The impact of caregiving on the emotional well-being and health of family caregivers.

Abstract

Family caregivers, who take care of older relatives, bear a heavy burden that can detrimentally affect their physical health and emotional well-being. This study aims to explore the subjective perceptions of family caregiving's impact on physical health and emotional well-being, the experience of feeling overburdened by caregiving responsibilities, and the subjective perceptions of health among caregivers of older relatives. Data from three waves of online questionnaire surveys conducted in 2018, 2020, and 2022 were analyzed. The COPE Index items were used to measure subjective perceptions of the impact of caregiving on physical health and emotional well-being and perceptions of being overburdened by caregiving. We present descriptive statistics and chi-square test analyses. In all three waves, the majority of respondents frequently or always perceived a negative impact of caregiving on their emotional well-being and physical health, with more than half always or often experiencing caregiver overburdening. A significant correlation was observed between the perceived impact of caregiving on physical health and emotional well-being, over 70% of respondents provided similar responses to both questions. Furthermore, a significant relationship is between the prevalence of caregiver overburden and subjective perceptions of health, with those experiencing caregiver overload being more likely to report poor or very poor health. Over 60% of participants indicated frequent or constant overburden of care, with this subgroup exhibiting a higher likelihood of perceiving their health as poor or very poor. Our results demonstrate that the caregiving burden affects both physical and emotional well-being. A significant proportion of family caregivers experience detrimental effects on their physical health and emotional well-being due to caregiving responsibilities. These negative effects were reported simultaneously by the majority of respondents. Caregiving can have negative consequences on the health of family caregivers. Our research underscores the importance of preventive measures. Orv Hetil. 2023; 164(40): 1583-1591.