Family caregivers of the elderly: quality of life and coping in Estonia

What is it about?

Abstract The purpose of the study was to analyse the assessments of elderly people aged 65 and more about family caregiving as a factor influencing their quality of life and coping. The study is based on the project SUFACARE*‘Supporting family carers and care receivers in Estonia and in Finland’*in the framework of which the Institute of Social Work of Tallinn University carried out postal surveys in 2010. The Estonian survey was conducted in Tallinn and La¨a¨ne-Viru County. The total number of respondents was 581 (70% female and 30% male), of whom 98 (n74 female and n24 male) were family caregivers. Caregiving has not influenced the physical and mental health of caregivers, the reason being that many people who receive care are not of very ill health or suffer from dementia. People mostly take care of their spouses. Based on the Estonian Family Law Act (RT I 2009, 60, 395), adult descendants are required to provide maintenance if their relatives are not able to care for themselves. Caregivers whose health is below average consider caring to be physically demanding.We cannot speak of the social isolation of respondents who have care duties, they communicate actively and do not feel lonely. Women report caregiving to be physically strenuous more often than men. The mental health of male caregivers is better*fewer male respondents claimed to feel unhappy or depressed compared to female respondents. Keywords: elderly; quality of life; health; family caregiver of elderly; coping; disability Uurimuse eesmargiks on analuusida vanuses 65 ja vanemate inimeste hinnanguid, kuidas omastehooldus mojutab nende elukvaliteeti ja igapaevast toimetulekut. Materjal pohineb SUFACARE projekti ,,Omastehooldajate ja hooldatavate toetamine Eestis ja Soomes‘‘ andmetele, mille raames Tallinna U likooli Sotsiaalto o Instituut viis aastal 2010 labi postikusitluse Tallinnas ja Laane-Virumaal. Vastajate koguarv oli 581 (neist 70% naised ja 30% mehed), kelledest 98 olid omastehooldajad (n74 naist ja n24 meest). Hooldamine ei mojutanud omastehooldajate fuusilist ega ka vaimset tervist. Pohjus peitub selles, et paljud hooldatavad ei olnud vaga haiged inimesed ega polnud ka dementsed. Hooldatavaks oli enamus juhtudel abikaasa voi elukaaslane. Eesti Perekonnaseaduse (RT I 2009, 60, 395) kohaselt on taiskasvanud lapsed kohustatud tagama ulalpidamise, kui nende vanemad ei ole voimelised enda eest hoolitsema. Hooldajad, kelle tervis oli alla keskmise vaitsid, et hooldamine on fuusiliselt pingutav. Hoolduskoorumusega vastajate puhul ei saa raakida nende sotsiaalsest isolatsioonist*nad suhtlevad aktiivselt ja ei tunne ennast uksikuna. Naised margivad sagedamini, et hooldamine on fuusiliselt raske. Meeshooldajate vaimne tervis on parem*vorreldes naisvastajatega vaidavad mehed harvem, et tunnevad onnetuna voi on depressioonis. Votmesonad: eakad; elukvaliteet; tervis; eakate hooldus perekonnas; toimetulek; invaliidsus

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