Analysis of Filial Ethics of Offspring in the Care Process of Disabled Elderly in the Context of Low Birth and Aging Population: A Cross‑sectional Study

Abstract

Background With the rapid aging of the population and a significant decline in fertility rates, elderly individuals with disabilities face enormous pressure to meet their old-age needs. The filial beliefs and behaviors of offspring play a crucial role in the physical and mental health of elderly disabled parents. We conducted a survey with the aim of assessing and analyzing the factors influencing the ethical status of filial piety among offspring caregivers of the elderly individuals with disabilities. Methods A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 528 offspring caregivers of the disabled elderly hospitalized in three secondary hospitals and three tertiary hospitals in Tangshan City, Hebei Province, China, and the questionnaire prepared and validated in advance by the subject group to investigate the filial piety ethics of the offspring caregivers of the disabled elderly. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data; t-test and ANOVA were used to compare differences between groups. Variables with a significance level of 0.05 in the univariate analysis were entered into the multivariate regression analysis to determine the predictors. Results The filial elder ethics score of the offspring caregivers was (105.23 ± 0.515), which is above average. The Educational level of the offspring caregivers, self-perceived economic status, age of the disabled elderly, disability status in the disabled elderly, support and care of the couple of the offspring caregivers, whether or not the neighbors provide caregiving assistance, and the cost of medication, medical treatment, and caregiving accounts for the proportion of economic expenditure of the offspring caregivers were the factors affecting the level of filial old age ethic (β = -2.356, -1.760, -2.657, -7.550, 1.167, -3.521, -2.291, P < 0.05). Conclusions The ethical status of filial piety of the offspring's caregivers needs to be further improved, and individuals, families, and community、governments need to work together to improve the ethical status of filial ethics of the offspring's caregivers of the disabled elderly. Trial registration Not applicable.