Table 1 Characteristics of Caregivers and Elderly People with Chronic Diseases, and Descriptive Statistics (n = 407)
From: Quality of life in Chinese family caregivers for elderly people with chronic diseases
| Characteristic | Caregiver | Elderly |
|---|---|---|
| n (%) | n (%) | |
| Gender | ||
| male | 175 (43.0) | 168 (41.3) |
| female | 232 (57.0) | 239 (58.7) |
| Age | ||
| 20–39 | 65 (16.0) | |
| 40–59 | 229 (56.2) | |
| 60–69 | 113 (27.8) | 153 (37.6) |
| 70–79 | 192 (47.2) | |
| 80+ | 62 (15.2) | |
| Marital status | ||
| married | 381 (93.6) | 284 (69.8) |
| unmarried/widowed/separation | 26 (6.4) | 123 (30.2) |
| Education level | ||
| illiterate | 45 (11.0) | 160 (39.3) |
| elementary school | 67 (16.5) | 125 (30.7) |
| secondary school | 146 (35.9) | 82 (20.2) |
| high school or professional training | 98 (24.1) | 31 (7.6) |
| college and above | 51 (12.5) | 9 (2.2) |
| Occupation | ||
| employed | 207 (50.8) | |
| retired | 89 (21.9) | 205 (50.4) |
| never been employed or others | 111 (27.3) | 202 (49.6) |
| Average monthly revenue (RMB) | ||
| ≤500 | 26 (6.4) | |
| 501–1000 | 78 (19.2) | |
| 1001–2000 | 114 (28.0) | |
| 2001–3000 | 104 (25.5) | |
| >3000 | 85 (20.9) | |
| Comorbidity (hypertension, coronary disease, diabetes mellitus, etc.) | ||
| none | 265 (65.1) | |
| one | 103 (25.3) | 107 (26.3) |
| two | 23 (5.7) | 103 (25.3) |
| three and more | 16 (3.9) | 197 (48.4) |
| Activities of Daily Living | ||
| independent | 0 (0.0) | |
| partially dependent | 294 (72.2) | |
| severely dependent | 113 (27.8) | |
| Relationship to the elderly person | ||
| spouse | 109 (26.8) | |
| children | 201 (49.4) | |
| children in-law | 80 (19.7) | |
| other relatives | 17 (4.1) | |
| Overall caregiving duration (year) | ||
| <1 | 112 (27.5) | |
| 1–2 | 88 (21.6) | |
| 3–5 | 87 (21.4) | |
| 6–9 | 48 (11.8) | |
| 10+ | 72 (17.7) | |
| Average daily caregiving duration (hours) | ||
| <2 | 178 (43.8) | |
| 2–3 | 127 (31.2) | |
| 4–5 | 71 (17.4) | |
| 6+ | 31 (7.6) | |
| Affordability of the elderly person’s healthcare expenses | ||
| ≥90 % | 43 (10.5) | |
| 89 %–50 % | 183 (45.0) | |
| 49 %–11 % | 151 (37.1) | |
| ≤10 % | 30 (7.4) | |
| Importance of the perceived effects of caregiving on the caregiver’s social life | ||
| important | 55 (13.5) | |
| relatively important | 186 (45.7) | |
| slightly important | 147 (36.1) | |
| not important at all | 19 (4.7) |