The implications of childcare on grandparents' health self-management in a Chinese elderly population.

ABSTRACT

Grandparents caring for grandchildren has become a common experience in China. However, the health implications of grandparenting, especially for health self-management, remain unclear. A cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate the effects of grandparenting on health self-management in older adults in China. Information on socioeconomic characteristics, grandparenting, and health self-management was collected through interviewer-administered questionnaires. Age less than 50, male gender, higher education level, being a local resident, having a chronic illness, and supporting themselves financially were all factors that were significantly positively associated with health self-management (P < .05) in grandparents. Grandparenting characteristics, including caring for grandchildren at night, a caregiving burden of more than 50%, poorly behaved grandchildren, caring for grandchildren more than 6 hours per day, and caring for grandchildren less than 1 year in age were significantly negatively associated with health self-management in grandparents (P < .05). Multiple regression analyses indicated that grandparent age, receiving financial support from children, being a local resident, education level, grandchild behavior and age, and being an urban resident were all statistically significant factors associated with health self-management in grandparents involved in grandparenting. Taken together, these results suggested that financial condition and caregiving burden might be the major factors affecting health self-management in grandparents involved in grandparenting.