Impact Factors for Health of Family Caregivers of Hospice Patients.

Purpose: This study was conducted to explore predictors of health status of family caregivers of hospice patients. Methods: This study included 118 family caregivers of patients who were admitted to the hospice ward of three general hospitals in D city. The collected data were analyzed by frequency, percentage, t-test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficients, and stepwise multiple regression using the SPSS WIN 18.0 program. Results: The mean score for overall health of family caregivers was 2.68 (±0.42). Mean scores for variables related to health were 2.55 (±0.37) for sleep quality, 1.91 (±0.41) for anxiety and 2.78 (±0.33) for hope. Variables such as sleep quality, gender, anxiety and hope explained 59.8% of variance among family caregivers' health conditions. Conclusion: These results suggest the need for nurses to search for ways to promote health of hospice patients' family caregivers, such as improving the quality of sleep, easing their anxiety and encouraging hope. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]