부산대학교 도서관

Aim: During the long-term process of caring for patients diagnosed with dementia, family boundary ambiguity arises when family caregivers find the changed nature of interactions with family members with dementia to be challenging. Extending the duration of home care for people diagnosed as having dementia instead of sending such individuals to care facilities has been the main problem in the long-term care system. By exploring the relationship between family resilience, family boundary ambiguity, and the hope felt by family caregivers of patients with dementia, we sought to provide caregivers with family-centered, evidence-based, and positive care interventions to meet the psychological demands of caregivers. The findings are expected to improve the quality of long-term care administered to patients. Methods: A cross-sectional correlational design was used. The sample comprised 133 family caregivers recruited from a neurology outpatient department in Taiwan. We used the following research instruments: the Herth Hope Index, family resilience scale, and family boundary ambiguity scale. Results: Family resilience and hope were positively correlated (r= .463, p＜ .01), family boundary ambiguity and hope were negatively correlated (r= -.269, p＜ .01), and family resilience was a predictor of sense of hope among family caregivers (R^2=20.9%). Conclusion: Family resilience had a positive correlation with hope and predicted sense of hope among family caregivers. Thus, we recommend for medical personnel to evaluate the degree of family resilience among families caring for people with dementia and use evidence-based interventions to create positive care experiences and environments.