Knowledge and Behaviors Toward Health Care for Elderly Patients with Hypertension, and Quality of Life Among Informal Caregivers in Northern Thailand

Figures & data

Figure 1 Conceptual framework: association among knowledge and behaviors toward health care for elderly patients with hypertension, and quality of life among informal caregivers.

Table 1 General Characteristics of Informal Caregivers (n = 402)

Variables	n	%
Gender
Male	155	38.6
Female	247	61.4
Age
<40 years	122	30.3
40–49 years	205	51.0
50–59 years	51	12.7
≥60 years	24	6.0
Min = 28, Max = 73, mean (SD) = 43.6 (8.8)
Education
No	147	36.6
Yes	255	63.4
Marital status
Single/widowed/divorced/separated	154	38.3
Married	248	61.7
Working status
Not working	196	48.8
Currently working	206	51.2
Alcohol drinking
No	233	58.0
Yes	169	42.0
Smoking
No	258	64.2
Yes	144	35.8
Relationship to the patient
Spouse	57	14.2
Child	145	36.1
Grandchild	78	19.4
Others (other relative, friend, neighbor, health volunteer)	122	30.3
Complication in patient
No	259	64.4
Yes	143	35.6
Diabetes mellitus (DM)	49	12.2
Stress	10	2.5
Low-density lipoprotein (LDL)	55	13.7
Stroke	29	7.2
Patient’s drug knowledge
No	216	53.7
Yes	186	46.3
Receiving information about hypertension
No	206	51.2
Yes	196	48.8
By public health officer	100	24.9
By health volunteer	51	12.7
By online media	45	11.2

Table 2 Knowledge and Behaviors Regarding Health Care for Elderly Hypertensive Patients and Caregivers’ Quality of Life (n = 402)

Variables	n	%
Knowledge toward health care for elderly patients with hypertension
Low level (scores ≤12)	159	39.6
Moderate level (scores 13–17)	156	38.8
High level (scores ≥18)	87	21.6
Min = 8, Max = 22, mean (SD) = 13.9 (3.3)
Behaviors toward health care for elderly patients with hypertension
Low level (scores ≤47)	145	36.0
Moderate level (scores 48–63)	184	45.8
High level (scores ≥64)	73	18.2
Min = 42, Max = 71, mean (SD) = 50.8 (7.8)
Quality of life
Low level (scores 26–60)	212	52.8
Moderate level (scores 61–95)	109	27.1
High level (scores 96–130)	81	20.1
Min = 56, Max = 108, mean (SD) = 71.5 (16.6)

Table 3 Factors Associated with Behaviors Toward Health Care for Elderly Hypertensive Patients Among Informal Caregivers (Linear Regression)

Variable	Univariable Analysis			Multivariable Analysis
	B	Beta	Sig.	B	Beta	Sig.
Gender	0.621	0.039	0.440
Age (years)	−0.288	−0.322	<0.001
Marital status	1.509	0.094	0.061
Education	7.856	0.483	<0.001	6.978	0.429	<0.001
Working status	5.300	0.338	<0.001
Alcohol drinking	−1.693	−0.107	0.033
Smoking	−2.543	−0.156	0.002
Relationship to the patient
Others	Ref.			Ref.
Spouse	2.771	0.123	0.028	2.705	0.120	0.014
Child	0.452	0.028	0.638	0.235	0.014	0.779
Grandchild	0.881	0.044	0.438	0.668	0.034	0.500
Complication in patient
No	Ref.
Diabetes mellitus	−3.175	−0.133	0.008
Stress	−6.154	−0.122	0.013
Low-density lipoprotein	−2.791	−0.122	0.014
Stroke	−5.534	−0.183	<0.001
Patient’s drug knowledge	4.533	0.288	<0.001
Receiving information
No	Ref.
By public health officer	3.074	0.170	0.001
By health volunteer	5.455	0.232	<0.001
By online media	3.755	0.151	0.003
Knowledge toward health care for hypertensive patients (scores)	0.775	0.321	<0.001	0.259	0.107	0.033

Notes: Variables: gender (male = 0, female = 1); marital status (single/widowed/divorced/separated = 0, married = 1); education (no = 0, yes = 1); working status (not working = 0, currently working = 1); alcohol drinking (no = 0, yes = 1); smoking (no = 0, yes = 1); patient’s drug knowledge (no = 0, yes = 1); age, knowledge and behaviors toward health care for hypertensive patients = continuous data.

Table 4 Factors Associated with Quality of Life Among Informal Caregivers of Elderly Hypertensive Persons (Linear Regression)

Variable	Univariable Analysis			Multivariable Analysis
	B	Beta	Sig.	B	Beta	Sig.
Gender	−1.692	−0.050	0.320
Age (years)	−1.002	−0.530	<0.001	−0.206	−0.109	<0.001
Marital status	2.561	0.075	0.132
Education	16.416	0.477	<0.001
Working status	15.581	0.470	<0.001
Alcohol drinking	−4.839	−0.144	0.004
Smoking	−8.312	−0.241	<0.001
Relationship to the patient
Others	Ref.			Ref.
Spouse	0.341	0.007	0.898	0.249	0.005	0.857
Child	3.308	0.096	0.104	2.062	0.060	0.050
Grandchild	4.703	0.112	0.050	3.355	0.080	0.007
Complication in patient
No	Ref.
Diabetes mellitus	−13.145	−0.260	<0.001
Stress	−12.357	−0.116	0.015
Low-density lipoprotein	−10.648	−0.221	<0.001
Stroke	−12.136	−0.190	<0.001
Patient’s drug knowledge	13.570	0.409	<0.001
Receiving information
No	Ref.
By public health officer	7.756	0.202	<0.001
By health volunteer	8.662	0.174	<0.001
By online media	17.444	0.332	<0.001
Knowledge toward health care for hypertensive patients (scores)	4.332	0.849	<0.001	3.927	0.770	<0.001
Behaviors toward health care for hypertensive patients (scores)	0.719	0.340	<0.001	0.123	0.058	0.037

Notes: Variables: gender (male = 0, female = 1); marital status (single/widowed/divorced/separated = 0, married = 1); education (no = 0, yes = 1); working status (not working = 0, currently working = 1); alcohol drinking (no = 0, yes = 1); smoking (no = 0, yes = 1); patient’s drug knowledge (no = 0, yes = 1); age, knowledge and behaviors toward health care for hypertensive patients, and quality of life = continuous data.