Effects of Disability Severity on the Family Burden of Home-Dwelling Uygur and Kazakh Aged in Rural Western China: Family Function as a Mediator

Abstract

Introduction:

Caring for the disabled elderly puts heavy burdens on their families. This study aimed to explore family function (FF) as a mediator in the relationship between disability severity (DS) and family burden (FB) of the Uygur and Kazakh home-dwelling disabled elderly cared for by informal caregivers in China.

Method:

A cross-sectional design with multistage sampling was used to recruit 431 families with Uygur and Kazakh disabled elderly in Bortala, Xinjiang, China. Data were collected using the Activities of Daily Living Scale, Family Burden Interview Schedule, and Family Adaptation, Partnership, Growth, Affection, and Resolve Index Scale and then analyzed using hierarchical regression.

Results:

FF had a partial mediating effect on the relationship between DS and FB (β = 0.131; 95% confidence interval [CI] = [0.074, 0.197]; p < .01); the effective rate was 41.46%.

Discussion:

Multidisciplinary care teams should implement targeted interventions to improve FF of the disabled elderly to alleviate FB.

Keywords

home-dwelling disabled elderly disability severity family burden family function mediating effect

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