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. 2022 Dec 20;20(1):20.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph20010020.

Double Disadvantage of Carers with a Disability: A Cross-Sectional Study of Care Duration and Perceived Importance for Service Improvement in Hong Kong, China

Wai Chan  1 , Meiqi Xin  1   2 , Erin Yiqing Lu  1 , Wai Ming Cheung  3 , Hector Wing Hong Tsang  1   2
Affiliations

Double Disadvantage of Carers with a Disability: A Cross-Sectional Study of Care Duration and Perceived Importance for Service Improvement in Hong Kong, China

Wai Chan et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Objectives: this study examined (i) the relationships between the care duration of carers and their perceptions of the importance of service improvement by types of service, and (ii) whether carers had a disability that moderated the impacts of care duration on these perceptions.

Design: survey data for cross-sectional analyses.

Method: The sample consisted of carers without disability (n = 625) and carers with a disability (n = 77). Hierarchical multiple regression was applied to examine the unique contribution of care duration. The interaction effects of the disability status of the carer was also estimated.

Results: Longer care duration was associated with a greater perception of the importance of service improvement for certain services by carers. The positive relationships between care duration and perception of the importance of caregiver assistances and financial subsidy improvement were stronger for carers with disabilities compared to carers without disability.

Conclusions: Long-term carers with disabilities face a potential double disadvantage of service improvement needs with more years of caregiving. Policy makers should consider prioritizing caregiver assistances or financial subsidy service improvements for long-term carers who themselves have a disability.

Keywords: care duration; caregiver assistances; carers with a disability; double disadvantage; importance of service improvement.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Conceptual model.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Relationships between care duration and perception of the importance of service improvement among carers on caregiver assistances.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Relationship between care duration and perception of the importance of service improvement among carers on financial subsidy.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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