Proposed Topic (Most preferred): :
HA Young Investigators Session (Projects to be presented by HA staff who had joined HA for 10 years or less)
Proposed Topic (Second preferred): :
Research and Innovations (new projects / technology / innovations / service models)
Authors (including presenting author) :
Chin LY(1)(2), Leung AYM(2), Ho YK(1), Man TSD(1), Lui SF(1), Shun KW(1), Chan MC(1), Wu YKA(1)
Affiliation :
(1) Department of Psychiatry, Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital
(2) School of Nursing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Introduction :
Dementia caregiving is truly stressful for family caregivers of persons with dementia (FCGPwD). Perceived stress (PS) and caregiving burden (CB) were prominent while social support moderated the relationship between PS and CB. Evidence shows the impact of Dementia Literacy (DL) on the negative mental health outcomes.
Family caregivers often encounter financial stress and they should possess certain level of financial literacy (FL) to cope with the demand of dementia care.
Objectives :
To examine the associations among DL, FL, CB and PS of FCGPwD and assess the moderating / mediating role of DL and FL in the relationship.
Methodology :
DL was the combination of dementia knowledge and attitude (positive attitude vs negative attitude). FL was measured by the translated Chinese Financial Literacy Scale. CB and PS were measured by the Chinese version of Modified Caregiver Strain Index and the Chinese version of Perceived Stress Scale respectively. Correlational analyses delineated the associations among the variables of interest. Multiple linear regressions and PROCESS Macro were used to identify the predictors of PS and examined the moderation and mediation of DL and FL respectively.
Result & Outcome :
182 family caregivers were included. FL was associated with both dementia knowledge (r = 0.241, p < 0.01) and attitude towards dementia (r = 0.214, p < 0.01). CB and negative attitude towards dementia were the predictors of PS. The final regression model explained 29% of the variance in PS. Negative attitude towards dementia partially mediated the relationship between CB and PS (B = 0.0468, SE = 0.0255, t = 1.835) as well as moderated the relationship (B = -0.043, SE = 0.021, p < 0.038).
Caregiving burden and perceived stress were significantly associated; however, negative attitude towards dementia altered this relationship. Health practitioners should consider providing training programs to family caregivers to reduce their negative attitude towards dementia and perceived stress.
