To investigate the demand and influencing factors of home care social support services for the elderly with dementia in urban areas, and provide a decision-making basis for improving home care social support services for the elderly with dementia.

This was a cross-sectional study. From March 2021 to March 2022, 386 family caregivers of elderly people with dementia were randomly selected from tertiary hospitals in four central urban areas of Wuhan by stratified sampling method. A questionnaire was used to investigate the current situation and attributes of the demand for home care social support services for the elderly with dementia in urban areas. The importance of the demand for home care social support services for the elderly with dementia in urban areas was calculated by the Better-Worse coefficient method and sensitivity formula method. The optimal scale regression model was used to analyze the influencing factors and influencing forces of independent variables on service demand.

The score of social support service demand for home care was (88.6 ± 29.71) points. The Better coefficient of demand for all social support services was greater than the absolute value of the Worse coefficient. One requirement (pressure ulcer prevention and treatment guidance) was a one-dimensional attribute, and the remaining 29 items were charm attributes. The top 6 items in importance ranking were 2 items of informational support (pressure ulcer prevention and treatment guidance; telephone counselling guidance for family caregivers), 1 items of instrumental support (financial assistance for family caregivers) and 3 items of social companionship support(cultural recreation/physical activity activities, door-to-door accompaniment, accompany the elderly to social activities). Optimal scale regression model test: all four models of social support service demand were statistically significant (F values were 2.75-4.23, all P <0.01). The gender, education level, number of children of the elderly with dementia, age,education level, self rated physical condition of family caregivers, the average monthly income of families, and the relationship between family caregivers and the elderly with dementia were the influencing factors of self-esteem support (all P<0.05). The educational level, marital status, type of dementia of the elderly with dementia, educational level, self rated physical condition of family caregivers, the average monthly income of the family, and the relationship between family caregivers and the elderly with dementia were the influencing factors of informational support (all P <0.05). The educational level and type of dementia of the elderly with dementia, the educational level, self rated physical condition of family caregivers, and the average monthly income of families were the influencing factors of social companionship support (all P <0.05). The type of dementia of the elderly with dementia, the self rated physical condition of family caregivers, the average monthly income of families, and the relationship between family caregivers and elderly relatives were the influencing factors of instrumental support (all P <0.05). Five times for caregiver human resources, 3 times for family economic resources and 3 times for the elderly with dementia, and 1 time for relatives resource factors were the top 3 times of independent variable influence force entered the ranking.

The demand for social support services for home care of the elderly with dementia is low, with the characteristics of expectant tendency and centralized demand. The provision of home-based care social support services should give priority to meeting the needs of "pressure ulcer prevention and treatment guidance", and provide financial assistance, counseling and guidance, social companionship and other services as much as possible. Caregiver human resources are the key factors affecting home care social support services, family economic resources and the elderly with dementia are important factors, it is recommended to fully tap the potential of relatives resources and community resources.

Aged; Dementia; Home care; Social support service; Kano model; Influencing factors