Lifestyles and Fatigue of Caregivers of the Impaired Elders Living at Home

The effects of the amount of time spent providing care to the elderly on caregivers' lifestyles and fatigue levels were examined. The subjects were 49 females administering in-home care to the elderly in H city located in the western part of Shizuoka prefecture. The caregivers' lifestyles were surveyed in terms of seven items from Breslow's Health Practice Index (HPI), and the caregivers' fatigue levels were assessed based on the Cumulative Fatigue Symptoms Index (CFSI). The subjects were divided into 3 groups for analysis according to the duration of their caregiving: a 24-hour group (n = 13), a between 4 & 24-hour group (n = 12) and a less than 4-hour group (n = 24). The following results were obtained. 1. The overall mean HPI score was 5.0 +/- 1.2 out of a possible 7. The HPI scores did not significantly differ between the three groups. However, the HPI score of the 24-hour group was the lowest and indicated that the 24-hour group had the smallest number of caregivers practicing proper sleeping pattern and nutritional balance in comparison with the other two groups. 2. The CFSI scores of the 24-hour group were significantly higher than those of the less than 4-hour group for indications of physical disorders, chronic tiredness and depressive feelings (p < 0.05). 3. In the less than 4-hour group, the HPI score was negatively correlated with CFSI score for chronic tiredness (p < 0.05).