Abstract
Providing care for people with dementia can be a highly stressful profession. Hair Cortisol Concentration (HCC) levels have been used as a biological marker for HPA axis activity to demonstrate that informal caregivers of people with dementia could be vulnerable to chronic stress. The current study aimed to progress the findings of research conducted with informal caregivers and is the first study to assess HCC as a biological indicator of stress in professional carers of people with dementia. HCC levels were compared between 32 professional dementia caregivers (30 females with a mean age of 45.83 and 2 males with a mean age of 24.50), 45 employees working in higher education settings (42 females with a mean age of 38.66 and 3 males with a mean age of 31.89) and 88 undergraduate students (67 females with a mean age of 24.04 and 21 males with a mean age of 23.91). Analysis of HCC was used to assess HPA axis activity over 1 month. A one-way ANCOVA, with age and gender being included as covariates, revealed that higher levels of HCC were observed in professional dementia carers than people who worked within higher education settings and undergraduate students. The results indicated that professional dementia caregivers may experience stress to the extent of activating biological stress responses at a greater frequency in comparison to people who work in higher education and undergraduate students. However, no significant differences were observed in the perceived stress levels reported across dementia caregivers, professionals working in higher education, and undergraduate students. These findings highlight the requirement to ascertain the extent to which work-related tasks or other factors, specific to the profession of caring for people with dementia, could elicit heightened HPA stress reactivity.
Highlights
400,000 older adults reside in care homes across the UK (Laing-Busson, 2018), with an estimated 70% of residents having a diagnosis of dementia (Alzheimer’s Society, 2019)
Physicians, nurses, and c other frontline staff had higher Hair Cortisol Concentration (HCC) levels than non-patient facing professionals, with the s highest levels observed in those workers who met the criteria for burnout. nu Taken together, this evidence suggests that HCC is a marker of HPA dysfunction in a individuals who experience stress as a function of providing care and could be M useful in assessing stress and HPA function in professional carers of people with dementia. d This is the first study to assess HCC and perceived stress in professional carers of te people with dementia in comparison to other groups who may be prone to stress, p employees who work within higher education (Kinman & Court, 2010) and Acce undergraduate students (Robotham, 2008)
The independent variable was the occupation of participants and had 3 levels; 1) professional dementia carers, 2) employees working in higher education (Academics/Support Staff) and 3) undergraduate students
Summary
400,000 older adults reside in care homes across the UK (Laing-Busson, 2018), with an estimated 70% of residents having a diagnosis of dementia (Alzheimer’s Society, 2019). Rodney (2000) a observed that perceived threat of aggression, as exhibited by residents in the care home M environment, is associated with higher levels of self-reported stress in dementia carers. Et al, (2005) used e subjective measures of stress when observing that professional dementia carers who are less cc experienced in their role report higher levels of stress than dementia caregivers who have A more than two years of experience in their role. Studies that have used self-reported measures of stress do not provide an indication of the biological stress experienced by frontline carers of people who have dementia. D M HCC has been used as a marker of stress in medical professionals who have significant te caring responsibilities and experience high levels of work-related stress. Physicians, nurses, and c other frontline staff had higher HCC levels than non-patient facing professionals, with the s highest levels observed in those workers who met the criteria for burnout. nu Taken together, this evidence suggests that HCC is a marker of HPA dysfunction in a individuals who experience stress as a function of providing care and could be M useful in assessing stress and HPA function in professional carers of people with dementia. d This is the first study to assess HCC and perceived stress in professional carers of te people with dementia in comparison to other groups who may be prone to stress, p employees who work within higher education (Kinman & Court, 2010) and Acce undergraduate students (Robotham, 2008)
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