Respite Services Utilization and Self-Rated Health of Older Family Caregivers in the United States: Differences between Young-Old and Old-Old Caregivers

Abstract

This study examined the associations between respite services use and self-rated health of older family caregivers who provided eldercare; and how the age of caregivers (i.e., young-old vs. old-old) moderated these relationships. Participants were asked when they used different respite services, namely, in-home respite, day care respite, and overnight respite. Using nationally representative data extracted from the 13th National Survey of Older Americans Act Participants (N = 926), results of multiple linear regressions indicated that caregivers who used in-home respite reported better self-rated health, as did those who used day care respite. The health benefit of day care respite was more prominent for old-old (75+) caregivers than their young-old (65–74) counterparts. These findings highlighted the heterogeneity among older family caregivers in different age groups in respite services utilization and subsequent health outcomes, which could inform relevant social work practice and policymaking to serve older adults with caregiving responsibilities and promote their general health conditions. Future research can further examine the impacts of family caregiver support services on different health indicators of older adults using longitudinal data.