Identifying the Needs of Home Care Patient's Family Caregivers

가정간호 가족 돌봄 제공자의 요구도

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the needs of family caregivers of home care patients. Methods: A total of 40 caregivers had been selected from a hospital-based home care agency in Gyunggi province. The instrument developed by Hileman, Lackey, & Hassanein(1992) was modified to 55 items and used in this study. The instrument consists of 6 categories: informational, household, patient care, personal, spiritual, and psychological needs. Out of 29 analysed with descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney U test, and Spearman correlation test using SPSS 14.0. Results: Most caregivers were females, with a mean age of $60.0{\pm}15.5$, 32.1% were spouses, and 92.9% were living with patients. Patient's activities of daily living score was very low, and 44% of patients had cerebrovascular disease. Caregiver's needs were moderate, and the greatest being personal need. There was a significant difference between caregiver's monthly income and needs. Conclusion: Home care nurses need to teach and support family caregivers with specific programs and services to meet the identified and unmet needs of caregivers of home care patients. In-home respite and institutional respite are recommended for family caregivers taking care of patients with chronic disease.