Knowledge and Behavior of family Caregivers Influencing Quality of life Among Elderly Diabetic Patients in Chiang Mai Province

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus (DM) remains a public health issue with increasing cases, particularly among the elderly. DM causes poor health and a diminished quality of life. Family members play an important role in providing care for elderly diabetic patients. The patient’s quality of life may be affected by family caregiver factors. The objective of this cross-sectional study was to determine the influence of family caregivers’ diabetes knowledge and patient-care behaviors on the QoL among elderly diabetic patients. The participants included 354 elderly patients with Type 2 DM and their family caregivers, who were recruited through multistage sampling from five districts in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Face-to-face interviews with elderly diabetic patients were conducted using the Thai Simplified Diabetes Knowledge Scale (T-SDKS), the Thai version of the Diabetes Self-Management Questionnaire (DSMQ) for self-care behaviors, the Thai version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life for Older People (WHOQOLOLD) scale. For family caregivers, their diabetes knowledge was measured by T-SDKS, and patient-care or supportive behaviors were developed based on DSMQ. Linear regression was used to identify how caregivers’ diabetes knowledge and patient-care behaviors influenced patients’ quality of life. The results showed that mean age of patients and their family caregivers were 69.15 ± 6.93 years and 51.43 ± 14.57 years, respectively. Patients had an average diabetes knowledge score of 8.27 ± 3.93 points, while caregivers had a slightly higher diabetes knowledge score of 8.42 ± 3.79 points. The mean score for self-care behaviors among patients was 7.14 ± 1.58 points, while the mean score for patient-care behavior among caregivers was 7.40 ± 1.58 points. Most of the patients had a moderate level of quality of life (55.9%). According to a simple linear regression analysis, the quality of life score among elderly diabetic patients was positively associated with their diabetes knowledge (B = 1.25), self-care behaviors (B = 3.00), caregivers’ diabetes knowledge (B = 0.97), and patient-care behaviors (B = 2.92) at a significance level of p <0.01. In the multivariable model, caregivers’ diabetes knowledge (B = 0.58, p = 0.001) and patientcare behaviors (B = 1.38, p = 0.004) were significantly associated with the quality of life among elderly diabetic patients when controlling for patient factors, including age, body mass index, education, living arrangements, and self-care behaviors, which accounted for 27.0% of the variance. The findings demonstrated the influence of diabetes knowledge and behaviors among both elderly patients and their family caregivers on patients’ quality of life. An intervention and measures should be provided for elderly diabetic patients and their family caregivers simultaneously to improve their diabetes knowledge and behaviors, enhancing patients’ quality of life.