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 |
|---|---|---|
| Â | n (%) | n (%) |
Gender | Â | Â |
 male | 175 (43.0) | 168 (41.3) |
 female | 232 (57.0) | 239 (58.7) |
Age | Â | Â |
 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 | Â | Â |
 married | 381 (93.6) | 284 (69.8) |
 unmarried/widowed/separation | 26 (6.4) | 123 (30.2) |
Education level | Â | Â |
 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 | Â | Â |
 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) | Â | Â |
 ≤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.) | Â | Â |
 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 | Â | Â |
 independent |  | 0 (0.0) |
 partially dependent |  | 294 (72.2) |
 severely dependent |  | 113 (27.8) |
Relationship to the elderly person | Â | Â |
 spouse | 109 (26.8) |  |
 children | 201 (49.4) |  |
 children in-law | 80 (19.7) |  |
 other relatives | 17 (4.1) |  |
Overall caregiving duration (year) | Â | Â |
 <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) | Â | Â |
 <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) |  |