ORIGINAL RESEARCH Family carer reactions and their related factors among Taiwanese with hospitalized relatives Pi-Ming Yeh & Yuanmay Chang Accepted for publication 29 October 2011 Correspondence to P.-M. Yeh: e-mail: pimingyeh@yahoo.com Pi-Ming Yeh PhD RN Assistant Professor Department of Nursing, Missouri Western State University, St. Joseph, Missouri, USA Yuanmay Chang PhD RN Chief Nurse Executive Department of Nursing, Shin Kong Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan YEH P.-M. & CHANG Y. (2011) YEH P.-M. & CHANG Y. (2011) Family carer reactions and their related factors among Taiwanese with hospitalized relatives. Journal of Advanced Nursing 00(0), 000–000. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2648.2011.05904.x Abstract Aim. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among family carer reactions and their related factors among Taiwanese with hospitalized rela- tives. Background. In Taiwan, most hospitalized patients have relatives or foreign labourers with them 24 hours a day. Limited research has focused on the reactions of family members who provide care for hospitalized relatives. Methods. A cross-sectional, correlation design was used. A convenience sample of 200 primary carers of hospitalized patients diagnosed with cancer, stroke, and enduring illness was recruited between 2009 and 2010. Data were collected by structured questionnaires. Results. The findings indicate that participants with a moderate level of family support experienced a moderate impact on health and finances, but a high impact on schedule. Family carers’ health status and work time were significantly different between, before and after serving as a carer. The multiple regression model variables accounted for 40Æ1% of the total family carer reaction variance. Three factors were found to predict significantly greater impact on a family carer: (1) lower scores of caregiving knowledge, (2) increasing patient’s activities of daily living dependency and (3) lack of family support. Conclusion. It is vital for nurses not only to assess patients’ activities of daily living, but also to assess family carers’ knowledge of caregiving and the patient’s existing family support in developing a plan of care that reduces negative impact on family carers. Keywords: family care, family carer reaction, hospitalized patients, long-term care, quality of life, Taiwanese Introduction In Taiwan in 2007, 92Æ96% of people with disabilities lived with family. There were 600,000 family carers in Taiwan who provided 13Æ55 hours of caregiving every day (Chen 2008). About 80% of these 600,000 family carers suffered from limitations on social activities, and about 70% had to take care of patients even when they themselves were ill. About 50–67% of family carers received no assistance from other family members, both Ó 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd 1 JAN JOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING