title: Relationships between quality of life and family function in caregiver.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There are caregivers who see their quality of life (QoL) impaired due to the demands of their caregiving tasks, while others manage to adapt and overcome the crises successfully. The influence of the family function in the main caregiver's situation has not been the subject of much evaluation. The aim of this study is to analyse the relationship between the functionality of the family and the QoL of caregivers of dependent relatives.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a cross-sectional study including 153 caregivers.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two health centers in the city of Salamanca(Spain). Caregiver variables analysed: demographic characteristics, care recipient features; family functionality (Family APGAR-Q) and QoL (Ruiz-Baca-Q) perceived by the caregiver. Five multiple regressions are performed considering global QoL and each of the four QoL dimensions as dependent variables. The Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) was used to study the influence of the family function questionnaire on QoL.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Family function is the only one of the variables evaluated that presented an association both with global QoL and with each of the four individual dimensions (p<0.05). Using the CCA, we found that the physical and mental well-being dimensions are the ones which present a closer relationship with family functionality, while social support is the quality dimension that is least influenced by the Family APGAR-Q.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We find an association between family functionality and the caregiver's QoL. This relation holds for both the global measure of QoL and each of its four individual dimensions.
authors.affiliation: Unidad de investigación del Centro de Salud de La Alamedilla, Salamanca, España. emilianorodriguezsanchez@yahoo.es
authors.forename: Emiliano
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Sánchez
authors.forename: Aníbal
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pérez-Peñaranda
authors.forename: Andrés
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Losada-Baltar
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pérez-Arechaederra
authors.forename: Manuel Á
authors.initials: MÁ
authors.lastname: Gómez-Marcos
authors.forename: Maria C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Patino-Alonso
authors.forename: Luís
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: García-Ortiz
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000368:Aged; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003858:Dependency, Psychological; D004522:Educational Status; D005192:Family Health; D005195:Family Relations; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017533:Marital Status; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012944:Social Support; D013030:Spain; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires