Abstract
Social support is an important predictor of the health of a population. Few studies have analyzed the influence of caregivers’ personal networks from a gender perspective. The aim of this study was to analyze the composition, structure, and function of informal caregiver support networks and to examine gender differences. It also aimed to explore the association between different network characteristics and self-perceived health among caregivers. We performed a social network analysis study using a convenience sample of 25 female and 25 male caregivers. A descriptive analysis of the caregivers and bivariate analyses for associations with self-perceived health were performed. The structural metrics analyzed were density; degree centrality mean; betweenness centrality mean; and number of cliques, components, and isolates. The variability observed in the structure of the networks was not explained by gender. Some significant differences between men and women were observed for network composition and function. Women received help mainly from women with a similar profile to them. Men’s networks were broader and more diverse and they had more help from outside family circles, although these outcomes were not statistically significant. Our results indicate the need to develop strategies that do not reinforce traditional gender roles, but rather encourage a greater sharing of responsibility among all parties.
Highlights
The number of dependent people in Spain is rising, partly because of the progressive aging of the population
The study population was formed by informal caregivers aged 18 years or older living in a family home in the province of Granada, Spain who provided unpaid care to a dependent person living in the same or another home
Just 20% of men and 16% of women had been working as informal caregivers for over 10 years
Summary
The aim of this study was to analyze the composition, structure, and function of informal caregiver support networks and to examine gender differences. The main aims of the present study were to characterize the structure, composition, and function of personal caregiver networks and to investigate whether these characteristics vary between women and men
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More From: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
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