Development of visualized model expressing the relationship among factors involved in eldery home care

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We developed a model to express the relationship among factors involved in elderly home care. We made up a questionnaire for construction of the model, and investigated the inter-rater reliability of the questionnaire between relatives and professional caregivers. We then gathered opinions about the model from professional caregivers.The model developed consists of four elements: the level of care needed, ability of caregiver, caregiver burden, and the comfort of the life of the elderly cared for. To measure these elements, we made up a questionnaire covering four areas, each consisting of four or five questions. There were 20 items in the questionnaire. To construct the questionnaire, we drew upon the questionnaire from the Cost of Care Index (Japanese version). To test the inter-rater reliability of the questions, both relatives of the elderly cared for and the professional caregivers independently evaluated the elderly in their care using the questionnaire. Kappa coefficients and proportion of agreement were used for the analysis. We also gathered opinions about the model from 29 professional caregivers by self-administered questionnaire.With the exception of one item (the relationship between caregiver and cared elderly), the Kappa coefficients and proportion of agreement were quite high. Based on the opinions from the professional caregivers, some of them accepted the model for its simplicity. They also noted some problems: lack of utility of model for care planning, discrepancy between the model and present condition of the elderly cared for.We developed the model to express the relationship among factors involved in caring for the elderly. To measure these factors, we drew up a questionnaire, and examined the inter-rater reliability of the items between relatives and professional caregivers. The simplicity of the model and difficulty of assembling detailed information drew the attention of the caregivers.