title: Structured interviews examining the burden, coping, self-efficacy, and quality of life among family caregivers of persons with dementia in Singapore.
abstract: Dementia is a global health issue and the effects on caregivers are substantial. The study aimed to examine the associations of burden, coping, self-efficacy with quality of life among family caregivers of persons with dementia in Singapore. Structured interviews were conducted in a convenience sample of 84 family caregivers caring and seeking clinical care for the persons with dementia in an outpatient clinic of a public hospital in Singapore. The outcome measures included the Family Burden Interview Schedule, Family Crisis Oriented Personal Evaluation Scale, General Perceived Self-Efficacy Scale, and World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale - Brief Version. In general, significant correlations were observed between the quality of life scores with coping strategy and family burden scores, but not between the coping strategy and family burden scores. Compared to demographic factors such as caregiver age and household income, psychosocial factors including family burden, coping strategies, and self-efficacy demonstrated greater association with quality of life in the participants. However, the dynamics of these associations will change with an increasing population of persons with dementia, decreasing nuclear family size, and predicted changes in family living arrangements for the persons with dementia in future. As such, it necessitates continuous study examining the needs and concerns of family caregivers and the relevance of ongoing interventions specific to caregivers of persons with dementia.
authors.affiliation: Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore; National University Health System, Singapore; Department of Psychology, Singapore Management University, Singapore.
authors.forename: Kay Chai Peter
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Tay
authors.affiliation: Department of Geriatric Medicine, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore.
authors.forename: Chuen Chai Dennis
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Seow
authors.affiliation: Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore; National University Health System, Singapore.
authors.forename: Chunxiang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: Nursing Division, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore.
authors.forename: Hui Min Julian
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Helen F K
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Chiu
authors.affiliation: Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore; National University Health System, Singapore chanwaichi@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Sally Wai-Chi
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Chan
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003704:Dementia / Q000451:nursing / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012846:Singapore; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: QoL; burden; coping; dementia; family caregiver; self-efficacy