Does Caregiver Education Level Influence Confidence in Care Budgeting and Planning for Persons Living with Alzheimer's Disease or Related Dementias?

Abstract

The nearly 11 million unpaid caregivers ('family members or friends') who provide care to the 6.5 million people living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) in the United States are frequently tasked with substantial and overwhelming care budgeting and planning. Yet, many of these caregivers encounter individual-level barriers that make it difficult to carry out care budgeting and planning tasks. An individual-level factor that is not well understood is the education level of ADRD caregivers. This ongoing study is investigating the role of caregiver education level in predicting confidence in ADRD care budgeting and planning. Caregivers of people living with ADRD residing in the United States completed the Caregiving Financial and Legal Planning Survey in 2022. Secondary analyses of cross-sectional data are currently underway. A total of 238 caregivers self-reported their confidence in care budgeting and planning, which was assessed by the following question "How confident are you in knowing about care budgeting and planning (1 = not at all confident, 5 = extremely confident). Those responding '4' or greater were designated as high confidence. Descriptive statistics were used to examine demographic characteristics of caregivers. Logistic regression analyses will be used to determine the relationship between caregiver education level and confidence in care budgeting and planning while controlling for demographic characteristics. The average caregiver was 52 years old (range 36-67), female (78%), white (82%), and had a bachelor's or equivalent level of education (34%). Thirty-five percent of the caregivers (83) reported high confidence. Logistic regression analyses are in progress. Results may suggest that caregivers with higher education levels feel more confident in care budgeting and planning. Practitioners and researchers may need to evaluate ways to improve training resources on how to budget and plan for ADRD care. A better understanding of factors that contribute to care budgeting and planning may inform tailored caregiving interventions and future social support policies.