The Care Burden and Influencing Factors of Family Caregivers of Older Adults with Dementia

Objective To analyze the current state of care burden of dementia caregivers and determine the influencing factors. Methods Using the questionnaire survey method, 600 family caregivers of older adults with dementia in five communities in Ningbo (China) were investigated from March to August 2022. Results The average score of care burden of dementia was 52.36 ± 12.08. The total score of social support for older adults with dementia ranged from 19 to 56, with the average score being 34.79 ± 9.54. The total score of social support and the score of each dimension were negatively correlated with the total score of the care burden and the score of each dimension, with the correlation coefficient being between 0.490 and 0.689 (p <0.05). Six factors affecting the burden of care for family caregivers of older adults with dementia were total social support score, dementia level, monthly family income, years of care, educational level, and the duration of daily care for older adults with dementia (all p <0.001). Conclusion The care burden of older adults with dementia is significant, with many influencing factors. Therefore, it is necessary to relieve the care burden of family caregivers through education support programs, self-efficacy training of caregivers, breathing care services, and psychological counseling to improve the quality of life, and relieve the pressure of social counseling and social support. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. ### Funding Statement The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Not Applicable The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: This study and the gathering of data were approved by the Ningbo college of health sciences Institutional Review Board I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Not Applicable I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Not Applicable I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines and uploaded the relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material as supplementary files, if applicable. Not Applicable Data are available from the Ningbo college of health sciences Ethics Committee for researchers who meet the criteria for access to confidential data