Institute for Labour and Social Research, Oslo, Norway.
Scand J Public Health. 2012 Feb;40(1):18-24. doi: 10.1177/1403494811425712. Epub 2011 Oct 17.
The article aims to answer who the informal caregivers of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are, what kind of help they provide, and how they experience providing help to the patient.
Data from a questionnaire survey to next of kin of COPD patients carried through in Norway in December 2009 and January 2010 is explored.
About 70% of the patients have one or more informal caregivers, and a majority of the caregivers is the patient's spouse, most often a wife. The help provided is, to a large extent, practical help like housework, garden work, and shopping. Another important support is to accompany the patient to health care. About 45% of the caregivers are part of the work force. Rather few of the respondents experience the caregiving as so demanding that they have chosen to work part-time or quit working. The most demanding part of being an informal caregiver is an overall worrying for the patient.
Paid sick leaves for caregivers that are employed, and hospital-at-home programmes that provide education and surveillance to the patient and his/her family through different phases of the illness, are policy means that both can help the informal caregivers to manage daily life and reduce the pressure on the formal healthcare and long-term care services in the future.
本文旨在回答慢性阻塞性肺疾病（COPD）患者的非正式照护者是谁、他们提供了哪些帮助以及他们如何体验为患者提供帮助。
探索了 2009 年 12 月至 2010 年 1 月在挪威对 COPD 患者的亲属进行的问卷调查数据。
约 70%的患者有一个或多个非正式照护者，大多数照护者是患者的配偶，通常是妻子。提供的帮助在很大程度上是家务、园艺和购物等实际帮助。另一个重要的支持是陪伴患者去看医生。约 45%的照护者有工作。很少有受访者认为照护工作要求太高，以至于他们选择兼职或辞职。作为非正式照护者最具挑战性的部分是对患者的全面担忧。
为有工作的照护者提供带薪病假，以及通过疾病的不同阶段为患者及其家属提供教育和监测的“医院居家”计划，是政策手段，可以帮助非正式照护者管理日常生活，并减少未来对正式医疗保健和长期护理服务的压力。
