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; Meiqi Xin; Erin Yiqing Lu; Wai Ming Cheung; Hector Wing Hong Tsang

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

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Dec 20;20(1):20. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20010020.

Authors

Wai Chan¹, Meiqi Xin^{1

2}, Erin Yiqing Lu¹, Wai Ming Cheung³, Hector Wing Hong Tsang^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong, China.
² Mental Health Research Centre, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong, China.
³ Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China.

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.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Caregivers*
China
Cross-Sectional Studies
Disabled Persons*
Hong Kong
Humans

Grants and funding

This study was supported by a government commission grant (“Persons with Disabilities and Rehabilitation Programme Plan”; Reference no.: PTeC: P17-0335-RS; LWB: SF(1) to LWB R3/3939/17) to H.W.H. Tsang from the Labor and Welfare Bureau of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China (HKSAR, PRC).