Comparison of the Quality of Informal Care of Community-Dwelling Taiwanese Older People.

BACKGROUND: With social structures changing and the average life-span of individuals increasing, Taiwan is experiencing a steady rise in its elderly population. Thus, caring for older parentsis an urgent problem. Many foreign caregivers have been hired tocare for older parents.However, measuring the quality ofinformal care has not yet been fully explored in Taiwan, particularly among older people who are cared for by foreign caregivers in home settings. PURPOSE: The purposes of this study were to understand the differences in quality of care for older Taiwanese and to explore the predictors of quality of care in two types of caregiving. METHODS: A comparative descriptive study design was conducted. The study was held in several community healthcare centers in the middle and southern regions of Taiwan. Study data were collected over an 18-month period between 2012 and 2014. t Tests were used to compare continuous variables according to the types of caregiving. Multiple linear regressions with group analyses were performed to evaluate the underlying statistical assumptions. RESULTS: One hundred fifty-nine participants were included. The study results showed that age, activities of daily living level, and quality of care were significantly different between the two types of caregiving. Relationships with caregivers, social support, and depressive symptoms contributed to the quality of care in family caregiving, explaining 50.2% of the variance. Social support and depressive symptoms contributed to the quality of care in foreign caregiving, explaining 36.6% of the variance. CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The study results support that the types of primary caregiving affect the quality of care that is received by elderly Taiwanese. This study may be used as a reference for families whose family members need long-term care when considering hiring foreign caregivers as an alternative option to Taiwanese caregivers.

Comparison of personality traits and successful aging in older Taiwanese.

AIM: The present study aimed to compare the difference of personality traits and successful aging among older Taiwanese adults. The proportions of successful agers who meet the criteria for successful aging was also be proposed. METHODS: A comparative descriptive study design was applied. To measure the definition of successful aging, three concepts proposed by Rowe and Kahn with five indicators were included. Demographic data were compared by the χ2 -test and Fisher's exact test across the subgroups defined by social economic status, marital status, and health habits. The comparison of personality traits and successful aging was applied by logistic regression. RESULTS: The results of the present study showed that the personality traits of conscientiousness, openness and emotional stability were found to be related to the dimensions of successful aging. In addition, except for the personality trait of openness, the personality traits of conscientiousness, extraversion, emotional stability and agreeableness were significantly different in the successful aging versus the non-successful aging group. CONCLUSIONS: The present study found the differences between personality traits and successful aging. Our study also provided essential information with regard to the differences of successful aging for older people. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2017; 17: 2239-2246.

Correlates of health-promoting lifestyle behaviors among Vietnamese female immigrants in Taiwan.

Immigration is a demanding and challenging life event that may cause married immigrant women to be likely to adopt unhealthy lifestyle behaviors. The aim of the authors of this study was to assess the prevalence of health-promoting lifestyle behaviors and their correlates among Vietnamese female immigrants in Taiwan. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 140 Vietnamese female immigrants from November 2012 to October 2013. Measures included demographic information, the Chinese Health Questionnaire, the General Functioning Scale of the Family Assessment Device, and a short version of the Chinese Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile. Data analyses included descriptive statistics, Pearson's product-moment correlation coefficients, t-tests, one-way analysis of variance, and a hierarchical multiple regression analysis. Vietnamese female immigrants with better individual health status, higher education from their original country, greater communication ability, better health status of the husband, and adaptive family functioning demonstrated greater participation in health-promoting lifestyle behaviors. Particularly, better husband's health status and family functioning correlated with greater practices of health-promoting lifestyle behaviors after controlling for individual characteristics and experiences, with 38% of the total variance explained. Findings may serve to guide and design culturally specific, family-focused health promotion interventions to assist Vietnamese female immigrants and their families.

Comparison of Pregnancy Stress Between In Vitro Fertilization/Embryo Transfer and Spontaneous Pregnancy in Women During Early Pregnancy.

BACKGROUND: Women who undergo in vitro fertilization/embryo transfer (IVF/ET) face complicated psychological stress and negative emotions, which may affect health during pregnancy and the development of the fetus. The current literature does not address the question of whether women who become pregnant spontaneously and women who undergo IVF face similar levels of pregnancy stress. PURPOSE: This study investigates the differences in pregnancy stress between women with spontaneous pregnancy and women with IVF/ET pregnancy living in central Taiwan during their first 20 weeks of pregnancy. METHODS: A prospective, longitudinal design with repeated measures, generalized estimated equations model, Wilks' λ, and Bonferroni test was used. Purposive samples of 163 women who had undergone IVF/ET and of 94 women who had undergone spontaneous pregnancy were enrolled as participants. Pregnancy stress was measured using the Chinese version of the self-administered Pregnancy Stress Scale at the 9th, 12th, and 20th weeks of pregnancy. RESULTS: The psychological stress experienced by IVF participants significantly increased with gestational week during the first 20 weeks of pregnancy (p < .01) but did not significantly increase in spontaneous-pregnancy participants. Gestational week was the main factor found to influence stress ratings for "identifying maternal role." "Altering body structure and body function" was the main factor found to influence pregnancy stress (p < .00). The method of becoming pregnant had no significant influence on pregnancy stress during the first 20 weeks of pregnancy (p > .05). CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The results of this study provide clinical evidence that IVF/ET does not cause more stress for women than spontaneous pregnancy. However, the intensity and trend of stresses differed between these two groups. These findings suggest that nurses should consider method of pregnancy when assessing the risk of stress in expectant mothers for each gestational week and when providing appropriate care and support.

The impact of foreign caregiving on depression among older people in Taiwan: model testing.

AIM: This article is a report of a study of predicting the factors that influence depression in the older people in Taiwan. Background. In 1991, Taiwan opened the labour market to foreign caregivers for the older people who needed long-term care. With the differences in language, culture and lifestyle between foreign caregivers and older people in Taiwan, it was hypothesized that the older people would not be able to relate to them, and therefore become depressed. METHODS: The data were collected from 116 Taiwanese older people from July to September, 2005. Path analysis using multiple regression analyses was conducted to estimate the direct and indirect effects of caregiving communication, activities of daily living, income and social support on depression among older people in Taiwan. To evaluate the hypotheses for this research, bi-variate linear regression and multiple regression analyses were used. RESULTS/FINDINGS: The results indicated that the level of activities of daily living (ß = -0·201, P = 0·010), care-giving communication (ß = -0·272, P = 0·002) income (ß = -0·305, P = 0·000) and social support (ß = -0·276, P = 0·002) were the predictors of depression in older people in Taiwan. Social support was a mediating factor for caregiving communication and depression. Furthermore, foreign caregiver care was not correlated with depression among older people in Taiwan. CONCLUSIONS: The findings influence the public awareness of depression in older people, and provide the foundational information to influence the policy makers of Taiwan to evaluate the foreign caregiver policy.