A Qualitative Research on the Support of Family Care for the Elderly with Dementia -Focusing on family caregivers at home in Jeju area-

The purpose of this study is to provide foundational data for developing effective support measures based on the caregiving experiences of families caring for dementia patients in the local community. To achieve this, a Focus Group Interview (FGI) was conducted with 20 families caring for dementia patients from July 27th to 29th, 2023. The analysis revealed the following results: From the FGI analysis, three top-level categories and 22 sub-categories were identified. The categories include reasons for caregiving at home, realities of family caregiving, and necessary services and policies for family caregiving. Sub-categories under “reasons for caregiving at home” include caregiving at home due to facility refusal, among others. Under “realities of family caregiving,” sub-categories encompass crises experienced while caregiving at home (such as difficulties in addressing basic hygiene issues like urinary and fecal incontinence), positive aspects of family caregiving (such as the emotional stability of dementia patients and caregiver pride), and dementia patient caregiving-related information (such as caregivers seeking individual caregiving-related information). Under “necessary services and policies for family caregiving,” sub-categories include services and policies to alleviate family caregiving burdens (such as the desire for an expansion of family care allowance hours) and expansion of support for dementia patient family caregiving (such as recognition of caregiving efforts, caregiver leave, side dish services, provision of welfare services for caregivers like psychological support programs). In light of the research findings, recommendations for support measures focusing on family caregiving for dementia patients are proposed.