Health-promoting behavior and quality of life among caregivers and non-caregivers in Taiwan: a comparative study

Abstract

AIM: This paper is a report of a study conducted to compare middle-aged female family caregivers and non-caregivers in terms of: (a) differences in quality of life and health-promoting lifestyle behaviors; and (b) the relationship between health-promoting lifestyle behaviors and quality of life. BACKGROUND: Caregiving for older relatives is a stressful responsibility that detracts from the quality of life of female caregivers and imposes barriers to practising healthy behaviors. Recent studies on caregiving responsibilities have been primarily conducted in Western cultural contexts, with few studies of Chinese groups. METHOD: This cross-sectional, comparative study included a convenience sample of 39 female caregivers and 98 non-caregivers recruited in southern Taiwan in 2007. Data were collected using the World Health Organization Quality of Life Instrument-BREF Taiwanese version and Health Promotion Lifestyle Profile II. RESULTS: The majority of caregivers reported a low level of caregiving input with family support. They also reported a statistically significantly higher proportion of health-promoting behaviors than non-caregivers, although quality of life did not differ between the two groups. Practising healthy behaviors may more strongly influence quality of life in caregivers than in non-caregivers. CONCLUSION: Policymakers should consider direct family support and uphold the value of family cohesion in order to maintain healthy behaviors and a high quality of life in family caregivers. Further studies with larger and more comparably-sized participant groups are recommended to investigate the interactions between levels of care, family support, caregiving consequences, health-promoting behaviors and the caregivers' quality of life.