School of Nursing, Jichi Medical University, Tochigi, Japan.
Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2010 Aug;64(4):377-86. doi: 10.1111/j.1440-1819.2010.02104.x. Epub 2010 Jun 10.
With the current shift to community-centered mental health services, considerable research on the family burden of caring for patients with schizophrenia has been conducted in developed countries. However, there has been no investigation of families with Japanese or Korean sociocultural backgrounds. Therefore, the present study compared the caregiver burden and coping strategies of families of patients with schizophrenia in Japan and Korea in order to elucidate similarities and differences in the sociocultural factors that affect the care experience of families in Northeast Asia.
A total of 99 Japanese (Nagasaki) and 92 Korean (Seoul, Daegu) family members of patients with schizophrenia were surveyed in regards to caregiver burden, coping strategies, and nursing awareness of the caregiver role regarding the patient with schizophrenia.
Analysis revealed the following: (i) although no difference in caregiver burden and coping strategy was observed between the countries, the nursing awareness of families' caregiver role was significantly higher in Japan than in Korea; (ii) caregiver burden was significantly associated with the patient's social functioning and care needs in both countries; and (iii) caregiver burden was significantly associated with reduction of social interests, coercion, avoidance, resignation, and nursing awareness of caregiver role in both countries.
Although the nursing awareness of families' roles in caring for patients with schizophrenia differed between Japan and Korea, similar trends were observed for the causes of caregiver burden. These findings suggest that in order to provide effective support for reducing caregiver burden, the necessity of such support must be emphasized in both countries.
随着当前向以社区为中心的精神卫生服务转变，许多针对照顾精神分裂症患者的家庭负担的研究在发达国家展开。然而，针对具有日本或韩国社会文化背景的家庭，却尚无研究。因此，本研究比较了日本和韩国精神分裂症患者家庭的照顾者负担和应对策略，以阐明影响东北亚家庭照顾体验的社会文化因素的异同。
共调查了 99 名日本（长崎）和 92 名韩国（首尔、大邱）精神分裂症患者的家庭成员，内容涉及照顾者负担、应对策略以及对精神分裂症患者照顾者角色的护理意识。
分析表明：（i）尽管两国之间的照顾者负担和应对策略没有差异，但日本家庭对其照顾者角色的护理意识明显高于韩国；（ii）在两国中，照顾者负担与患者的社会功能和护理需求显著相关；（iii）在两国中，照顾者负担与社会兴趣减少、强制、回避、听之任之以及对照顾者角色的护理意识显著相关。
尽管日本和韩国在照顾精神分裂症患者的家庭角色的护理意识上存在差异，但导致照顾者负担的原因存在相似的趋势。这些发现表明，为了提供有效的支持以减轻照顾者负担，两国都必须强调这种支持的必要性。
