However, many if not most caregivers are family members
rather than professionals. Family caregivers typically
take care of the patients on a daily basis. These family
caregivers lack the professional training to facilitate patient
self-care behavior, which, when improved, may in
turn help to reduce the caregiver burden. A fairly recent
study measuring the relationships of caregivers and COPD
patients and the associated caregiver burden concluded
that COPD caused a significant impact on the quality of
life of caregivers, and that the 2 most important predictors
of the caregiver burden for COPD patients are the relationships between patients and their caregivers and the
attitude and ability of caregivers. Our clinical experience
and previous studies5–7 reveal that quality of life, caring
behavior, and psychosocial adjustment of family caregivers are inevitably affected by the patient’s physical and psychological conditions. As the patient’s need for support increases, the caregiver may find it more difficult to meet those needs, and debate continues on whether more caregiver care behavior will have a positive effect on the patient’s self-management. In general, however, the influence of family caregivers on COPD patients’ self-care
behavior has been poorly explored in the literature, and
evidence-based recommendations are needed. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between self-management and the caregiver burden, and the influence of family caregivers’ caring behavior on self care behavior in COPD patients. We hypothesized that
family caregivers’ caring behavior and caregivers’ reactions to the caregiving work load would significantly affect the self-care behavior of COPD patients.