title: Influence of family caregiver caring behavior on COPD patients' self-care behavior in Taiwan.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  COPD becomes a long-term burden on family members who serve as day-to-day caregivers, and causes healthcare systems to incur substantial costs. COPD is both preventable and treatable, and one important aspect of COPD treatment is patients' self-management. This study aimed  to investigate relationships between self-management and the caregiver burden, and the influence of family caregivers' caring behavior on COPD patients' self-care behavior.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a cross-sectional study conducted between March 2007 and January 2008, 192 pairs of COPD patients (age >  40 years, normal cognitive function) and their primary family caregivers were recruited to answer questionnaires measuring COPD characteristics and COPD knowledge (patients and caregivers); functional status, health beliefs, self-efficacy, and self-care (patients); and caring behavior and  caregiver response (family members). All questionnaires were shown to have acceptable validity and reliability, and the data were analyzed using univariate and multivariate techniques.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients' ages, scores in health belief, self-efficacy and disease-related knowledge were shown  to correlate with patients' self-care behavior. Patients' self-care behavior was negatively correlated with family caregivers' caring behavior (ρ = -0.21, P = .003), but positively with caring duration of family caregiver caring behavior (ρ = 0.15, P = .037). Patients  with a spouse as caregiver exhibited higher self-care ability than patients not married to their caregivers (P = .038). However, patients' self-care behavior decreased with higher family caregivers' COPD knowledge (P = .041) and caring behavior (P = .01), and patients  regularly taking medication exhibited low self-care scores.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Family caregivers' caring behavior had a partial negative effect on COPD patients' self-care behavior.
authors.affiliation: Nursing Department, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Kwua-Yun
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Pei-Yi
authors.initials: PY
authors.lastname: Sung
authors.forename: Sheng-Tzu
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Chi-Huei
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Chiang
authors.forename: Wann-Cherng
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Perng
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001294:Attitude to Health; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004645:Empathy; D005260:Female; D006379:Helping Behavior; D006801:Humans; D055809:Illness Behavior; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008134:Long-Term Care / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D011788:Quality of Life; D012648:Self Care / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012803:Sick Role; D012917:Social Adjustment; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires