Ability of older male caregivers to seek help when caring for a wife or mother with dementia living at home

Midori Nishio; Sayori Sakanashi; Naoki Uchida; Shinji Oma; Hiromi Kimura; Hiroko Kukihara; Kayoko Koga

Return

Ability of older male caregivers to seek help when caring for a wife or mother with dementia living at home

VernacularTitle:Ability of older male caregivers to seek help when caring for a wife or mother with dementia living at home
Author: Midori NISHIO ¹ ; Sayori SAKANASHI ² ; Naoki UCHIDA ³ ; Shinji OMA ² ; Hiromi KIMURA ² ; Hiroko KUKIHARA ⁴ ; Kayoko KOGA ²
Author Information

1. Department of Nursing, Nishikyushu University, Japan
2. Department of Neurology, Fukuoka University, Japan
3. Taro-clinic, Japan
4. International University of Health and Welfare, Japan
Keywords: male caregiver; dementia; help
From:Journal of Rural Medicine 2023;18(3):182-188
CountryJapan
Language:English
Abstract: Objective: We aimed to clarify factors associated with the ability to seek help among older male caregivers who care for women with dementia in their families.Patients and Methods: This information will inform strategies to support their continued provision of long-term care. Participants were 364 male caregivers recruited from three places: The study period was 2017–2018. We obtained ethical approval for this study from the relevant ethics committee.Results: The ability to seek help for care problems among male caregivers was normally distributed. We found that more than 90% of older male caregivers did not actively seek help to resolve care problems, suggesting that older male caregivers had problems with long-term care. In the high score group, health status and the number of emotional support persons in the household were significantly and somewhat strongly positively correlated. The low score group showed a significant and rather weak positive correlation between economic status and health status, and the number of emotional supporters inside and outside the household.Positive correlations for the high score group were self-esteem and depressive symptoms, and self-esteem and resources. Positive correlations for the low score group were self-esteem and depressive symptoms, self-esteem and resources, and resources and depressive symptoms.Conclusion: Male caregivers are more likely to seek help if they are employed or play a role in their community. Nurses also need to support male caregivers with positive words and praise to help them use available support and resources and continue to provide long-term care. It is important for healthcare professionals to observe whether a caregiver presents with depressive symptoms or has long-term care problems because older male caregivers do not seek help. Collaboration between caregivers and medical, long-term care, and welfare professionals is necessary. Direct and timely intervention is needed.