Abstract
BackgroundPressures on informal caregivers are likely to increase due to increasing life expectancy and health care costs, which stresses the importance of prevention of subjective burden. The present study examined the correlates of overall subjective burden and multiple burden dimensions among spousal and adult-child caregivers of Dutch older adults, both cross-sectional and longitudinal (12-months follow-up).MethodsIn 2010 and 2011 baseline and follow-up data was collected in a sample of informal caregivers and care recipients in the Northern provinces of the Netherlands. Subjective burden included 7 burden dimensions and a summary score for overall subjective burden, based on the Care-Related Quality of Life Instrument (CarerQoL-7D). Objective stressors were the time investment in caregiving (hours of household care, personal care, practical care) and the health situation of the care recipient, including multimorbidity, functional limitations (Katz Index of Independence Basic Activities of Daily Living (ADL) and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL), and cognitive functioning problems (EQ-5D + C). Correlates of subjective burden were evaluated with linear and logistic regression analyses. ResultsThe sample consisted of 356 caregivers at baseline (43% spousal, 57% adult-child caregivers), and 158 caregivers at follow-up (45% spousal, 55% adult-child caregivers). At baseline and follow-up, spousal caregivers experienced a higher overall subjective burden, and reported more often mental health problems, physical health problems, and problems with combining daily activities, compared to adult-child caregivers. For spousal caregivers, a poorer health situation of the care recipient was associated with higher subjective burden, while adult-child caregivers reported higher levels of subjective burden when their time investment in caregiving was high. Subjective burden at follow-up was mainly explained by baseline subjective burden.ConclusionsThese results indicate that for effective caregiver support, it is crucial to take the type of care relationship into account, since the level and correlates of overall subjective burden and burden dimensions varied for spousal and adult-child caregivers. In addition, reducing subjective burden will also positively impact the subjective burden over time.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12877-016-0387-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Pressures on informal caregivers are likely to increase due to increasing life expectancy and health care costs, which stresses the importance of prevention of subjective burden
Informal care is directed towards older parents and spouses, with on average 32% of informal caregivers caring for their parent, and 36% caring for their spouse [1]
With regard to the correlates of the different burden dimensions, we found that the time investment of adult-child caregivers in caregiving was mainly associated to the experience of mental and physical health problems, while the health situation of their parent was in particular related to the experience of relational problems (Additional file 1: Table S3A-C)
Summary
Pressures on informal caregivers are likely to increase due to increasing life expectancy and health care costs, which stresses the importance of prevention of subjective burden. Informal care is directed towards older parents and spouses, with on average 32% of informal caregivers caring for their parent (adult-child caregivers), and 36% caring for their spouse (spousal caregivers) [1]. This caregiving role can be very burdensome, and can even lead to poor health outcomes, such as psychological and physical health problems [3, 4]. To sustain informal caregiving it is important to prevent excessive burden and promote positive caregiving experiences in informal caregivers
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
