• Kaizen Ken, Junko Okuno, Takako Fukasaku, Shigeo Tomura, and Hisako Yanagi.
• University of Yan Bian.
• Nihon Koshu Eisei Zasshi. 2010 Sep 1; 57 (9): 816-24.

UnlabelledObjective In the People's Republic of China (China), caregivers carry a large burden because of the rapid aging of the population, the one-child policy and the uncertainty of the social security system. The situation is further complicated by the fact of 56 ethnic groups in the country. Few studies on caregiver burden in different ethnic groups have been reported, although different customs, cultures and methods of caring for the elderly do certainly exist. The aim of the present study was to compare the caregiver burden for the elderly among Han Chinese and the Korean Minority living in a community and to examine the factors affecting this burden.MethodsAn investigation was conducted using a questionnaire for 76 pairs of elderly people and their caregivers in Yanji City, China (Korean Minority pairs 52, Han pairs 24). The questionnaires for the elderly included their characteristics, economic conditions, ADL, behavioral disturbances associated with dementia, etc. For the caregivers, their characteristics, the state of their health, daily length of care time, social support, intent to continue home care, and Zarit Caregiver Burden Interview (ZBI) score were investigated.ResultsThe rate (70.8%) of caregivers with a "high caregiver burden," i.e., those with a median ZBI total score of 33 or more, and the personal strain scores of the Han Chinese were significantly higher than in the Korean Minority. As for who was a suitable caregiver, a high percentage of Han caregivers answered the "children" of the elderly, while Korean Minority caregivers answered the "spouses". When the caregiver was a child of the elderly receiving care, the Hans' ZBI score was higher than that for the Korean Minority. Factors most affecting caregiver burden in the Korean Minority were behavioral disturbances associated with dementia of the elderly, ADL, and degree of life independence of the elderly, along with disorders, sex and health state of the caregivers, relations, length of daily care time, number of vice-caregivers, and social support. Factors affecting caregiver burden in the Han group were the presence of private rooms for the elderly, their life satisfaction and family economic conditions. About 80% of caregivers of both groups had the intention to continue home care, and about 50% of the elderly of both groups answered that entering an institution was not acceptable.ConclusionFactors affecting caregiver burden differ between these two ethnic groups, although in both cases about 80% of caregivers intend to continue home care. Therefore, it is necessary to support the elderly and caregivers in ways that suit their ethnic characteristics.

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