Understanding and alleviating informal caregiver burden through the development and validation of a caregiver strain index-based model in Taiwan

Abstract Background Quantifying the informal caregiver burden is important for understanding the risk factors associated with caregiver overload and for evaluating the effectiveness of services provided in Long-term Care (LTC). Objective This study aimed to develop and validate a Caregiver Strain Index (CSI)-based score for quantifying the informal caregiver burden, while the original dataset did not fully cover evaluation items commonly included in international assessments. Subsequently, we utilized the CSI-based score to pinpoint key caregiver burden risk factors, examine the initial timing of LTC services adoption, and assess the impact of LTC services on reducing caregiver burden. Methods The study analyzed over 28,000 LTC cases in Southern Taiwan from August 2019 to December 2022. Through multiple regression analysis, we identified significant risk factors associated with caregiver burden and examined changes in this burden after utilizing various services. Survival analysis was employed to explore the relationship between adopting the first LTC services and varying levels of caregiver burden. Results We identified 126 significant risk factors for caregiver burden. The most critical factors included caregiving for other disabled family members or children under the age of three (β = 0.74, p