Table 3.

The reference values for non-continuous variables.

Non-continuous variables		Reference values
Family caregivers	Gender	Male = 0; Female = 1
	Religious beliefs	Yes = 0; No = 1
	Marital status1	Had a spouse: Z1 = 0, Z2 = 0, Z3 = 0; Unmarried: Z1 = 1, Z2 = 0, Z3 = 0; Divorced: Z1 = 0, Z2 = 1, Z3 = 0; Widowed: Z1 = 0, Z2 = 0, Z3 = 1
	Whether there were regular breaks during patient care	Yes = 0; No = 1
	Monthly household income (RMB)	Less than 3,000 = 1; 3,001–5,000 = 2; 5,001–7,000 = 3; More than 7,000 = 4
	Relationship with patient1	Spouse: Z1 = 0, Z2 = 0; Children: Z1 = 1, Z2 = 0; Relatives: Z1 = 0, Z2 = 1
	Knowledge of dementia	Completely lacking knowledge =1; A small amount of knowledge (knowing something about dementia) =2; Basic knowledge (having basic knowledge and nursing skills in relation to dementia) =3; A high level of knowledge (having a good amount of knowledge and nursing skills in relation to dementia) =4; Full knowledge =5
Patients with dementia	Religious beliefs	Yes = 0; No = 1
	Marital status1	Had a spouse: Z1 = 0, Z2 = 0, Z3 = 0; Unmarried: Z1 = 1, Z2 = 0, Z3 = 0; Divorced: Z1 = 0, Z2 = 1, Z3 = 0; Widowed: Z1 = 0, Z2 = 0, Z3 = 1
	Medical insurance type1	Urban employee basic medical insurance: Z1 = 0, Z2 = 0, Z3 = 0, Z4 = 0; New rural cooperative medical insurance: Z1 = 1, Z2 = 0, Z3 = 0, Z4 = 0; Urban residents basic medical insurance: Z1 = 0, Z2 = 1, Z3 = 0, Z4 = 0; Commercial medical insurance: Z1 = 0, Z2 = 0, Z3 = 1, Z4 = 0; No insurance: Z1 = 0, Z2 = 0, Z3 = 0, Z4 = 1
	Self-care ability	Fully capable of self-care (could independently complete activities of daily living, such as bathing, dressing, toileting, moving, bowel and bladder control, eating, etc.) = 1; Partially capable of self-care (able to perform some activities of daily living independently, such as bathing, dressing, toileting, moving, bowel and bladder control, and eating, etc., but requiring assistance from others) = 2; Completely unable to take care of themselves (could not complete bathing, dressing, toileting, moving, bowel and bladder control, eating, etc.; all requiring assistance from others) =3

¹Dummy variables were set.