The influence path of stigma on the time of healthcare-seeking decision in caregivers of elderly patients with dementia and humanistic care strategies / 中国实用护理杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To clarify the influence and influence paths of stigma on the time of the healthcare-seeking decision in caregivers of elderly patients with dementia, and to provide a theoretical basis for the construction of corresponding humanistic care strategies.Methods:A total of 176 caregivers of elderly patients with dementia who visited the Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University and Xuzhou Oriental People ′s Hospital from February 2021 to February 2022 were selected as the study subjects. The General Information Questionnaire, self-designed Scale of Stigma for Caregivers of Senile dementia patients, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, self-designed Elderly Dementia Caregivers′ Perceived Barriers Scale for Healthcare-seeking Decision, and self-designed Scale of the Intention to Seek Healthcare for caregivers of senile dementia patients were used in the survey. AMOS 20.0 was used to establish a structural equation model for path analysis. Results:The higher the stigma of caregivers, the longer the time of the healthcare-seeking decision ( β=0.05, P<0.05). Social support, perceived barriers to the healthcare-seeking decision, and the intention to seek healthcare were the mediating variables of caregivers ′ stigma affecting the time of the healthcare-seeking decision, with a total effect of -0.04, 0.14, and 0.36, respectively, and all P<0.05. Conclusions:The stigma in caregivers of senile dementia patients is an important factor affecting the time of the healthcare-seeking decision. By improving mediating factors including social support, perceived barriers to the healthcare-seeking decision, and the intention to seek healthcare, the implementations of targeted humanistic care strategies are expected to help shorten the time of the healthcare-seeking decision.