Impact Of Informal Caregiving Research Articles

Impact of informal caregiving on depressive symptoms among a national cohort of men

BackgroundThere is evidence that unpaid caregiving can have negative effects on the mental health of female caregivers; however, evidence of impacts on male caregivers is limited. This study addressed this...

Caregiving for older people living with chronic pain: analysis of the English longitudinal study of ageing and health survey for England.

Chronic pain is a disabling condition. Many people with chronic pain seek informal support for everyday activities of daily living (ADL). However, there remains uncertainty on the type of people with chronic pain who access this support, what types of support they need and who provides such support. The purpose of this analysis was to answer these uncertainties. Data from the Health Survey for England (HSE) and English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) were accessed. People who reported chronic pain (moderate or above for minimum of 12months) were identified. From these cohorts, we determined if individuals self-reported receiving informal care. Data on caregiver profiles and caregiving activities were reported through descriptive statistics. Logistic regression analyses were performed to compare health status outcomes between people with pain who received and who did not receive informal care. 2178 people with chronic pain from the ELSA cohort and 571 from the HSE cohort were analysed. People who received care were frequently female, older aged with several medical morbidities including musculoskeletal diseases such as arthritis. People with chronic pain received informal care for several diverse tasks. Most frequently these related to instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) such as shopping and housework. They were most frequently provided by partners or their children. Although they reported greater disability and symptoms (p < 0.001), people who received care did not report differences in health status, loneliness or wellbeing (p = 0.27; p = 0.46). Whilst it may be possible to characterise people living in chronic pain who receive informal care, there is some uncertainty on the impact of informal caregiving on their health and wellbeing. Consideration should now be made on how best to support both care recipients and informal caregivers, to ensure their health and quality of life is promoted whilst living with chronic pain.

Does the provision of informal care matter for caregivers’ mental health? Evidence from China

This paper investigates the causal effect of informal care on the mental health of caregivers and disentangles the mechanisms of such effect. Using 2011−2018 CHARLS data, the fixed effects and instrumental variable approaches was conducted to address fundamental endogeneity problems. This study found that there was no impact of informal caregiving on caregivers’ mental health in general. However, the intensity of caregiving was shown to negatively impair mental health. The impact of informal caregiving varied by kinship, cultural context, and residential area. Participation in social and exercise activities and life satisfaction mediated the association between the provision of informal care and caregivers’ mental health. Long-term care insurance and the provision of formal care substantially modified the negative impacts of informal caregiving.

Becoming an informal care-giver: the role of work status incongruence

AbstractThe ageing of the workforce suggests that many older adults will be combining work and care. While there is extensive evidence for the impact of informal care-giving on paid employment, there is less research on how work status may influence the provision of informal care. It has also yet to be established whether work preferences may influence the uptake of care-giving responsibilities, particularly for older workers. We investigated the impact of work status congruence on taking up informal care at two-year follow-up. A sample of 1,211 employed participants aged 55–70 years was surveyed over two consecutive waves. Involuntary part-time workers were more likely to provide care at Time 1 than involuntary full-timers, voluntary part-timers and voluntary full-timers. Participants were more likely to take up care if the opportunity costs of doing so were low, however, only for those whose preferences for more work were not met. There were no moderating effects of gender and economic living standards on the relationship between work status incongruence and provision of care-giving. Understanding the decision-making processes older workers undertake when taking up informal care are complex and must consider the influence of personal work preferences. These findings have implications for care and work-based policy given the importance of informal care in sustaining ageing-in-place policies.

The effect of informal caregiving on physical health among non-migrants and Ethnic German\xa0Immigrants in Germany: a cohort analysis based on the GSOEP 2000\u20132018

BackgroundThe number of people in need of care in Germany has been rising since decades, which is related to an increasing need and relevance of informal caregiving. Likewise, the number of people with a migration background has been increasing. This study aims to analyse the impact of informal caregiving on physical health in comparative perspective for Ethnic German Immigrants (EGI) – the largest and oldest immigrant group in Germany – and non-migrant Germans (NMG).MethodsThe sample was drawn from the years 2000–2018 of the German Socio-Economic Panel (n = 26,354). NMG (n = 24,634) and EGI (n = 1,720) were categorized into non-caregivers (n = 24,379) and caregivers (n = 1,975), where the latter were distinguished by 1) their caregiving status and history (current, former, and never caregiver) and 2) the number of years in the caregiver role. Generalized Estimating Equations were applied to examine main effects and the interaction effects of caregiving status and migration background for changes in physical health (n = 102,066 observations).ResultsAdjusting for socioeconomic, household related, and individual characteristics, NMG and EGI had similar caregiving patterns and physical health. However, the interaction between migration background and caregiving revealed significantly higher declines in physical health for currently caregiving EGI. Sensitivity analyses indicated that particularly socioeconomic resources moderated this effect.ConclusionsFindings suggest that caregiving is associated with declines in physical health, particularly in the long term and for EGI. This implies that care-related disadvantages accumulate over time and that the association of caregiving, health and associated determinants are culturally diverse and shaped by migration background. Both the health disadvantages of caregivers and EGI might be mitigated by a positive social and socioeconomic setting, which highlights the relevance of supporting structures and benefits for these subgroups.

The Impact of Informal Caregiving on Labour Supply Before and After a Parent\u2019s Death

Most European countries are facing an ageing population, which points to a need for having as many people as possible of employable age working full time. The growing number of older people increases the pressure on health and care services as well as on family caregivers. Adult children are important care-providers in their parents’ final years. This study investigates how having a parent in need of care affects sons’ and daughters’ labour market participation. The question is investigated by analysing longitudinal data from the Norwegian life course, ageing and generation study. The empirical strategy is first to use register information about parents’ demise as an indicator for amplified care needs in the period prior to their death and explore patterns in labour market participation (employment and earnings) before and after the death of a parent. Then, register data are combined with survey data in order to separate caregivers from non-caregivers prior to the loss of a parent. The analyses show a negative employment trend in the years before and after the loss of a lone parent. They also show a different development in earnings between caregivers and non-caregivers. Caregivers have a weaker development in earnings both before and after the death of their parent compared to non-caregivers. The study concludes that caring for older parents has a negative impact on the children’s labour market participation in both the period with substantial caregiving needs and the period following the parents’ demise.

Social Participation and Health Outcomes Among Caregivers and Noncaregivers in Great Britain.

This study investigates the relationship between social participation and health outcomes between caregivers and noncaregivers in Great Britain. Previous studies indicate that the impact of informal caregiving on the carer's health is complex, and the intensity of care provision has an adverse impact on the caregivers' health, while social participation could have a protective role in this respect. Using qualitative and quantitative data from Wave 8 of the 1958 National Child Development Study, the analysis shows that social participation has a positive effect on the carers' mental health and subjective well-being. Individuals who did not engage in social participation reported lower levels of mental health and control, autonomy, self-realization and pleasure (CASP) scores than those engaged in social participation. The qualitative results showed the barriers to social participation of caregivers to be time, energy, and finance. We discuss ways in which the government could address such barriers to improve the level of social participation among caregivers.

Impact of informal caregiving on loneliness and satisfaction with leisure-time activities. Findings of a population-based longitudinal study in germany

Objectives: Recent longitudinal studies have shown that informal caregiving increases depressive symptoms. However, little is known about the relation between informal caregiving and social ties as well as the evaluation of leisure-time activities longitudinally. Consequently, the aim of the current study was to investigate whether informal caregiving affects social ties as well as the perception of leisure-time activities.Method: Data were drawn from a population-based sample of community-dwelling individuals (≥40 years) in Germany from 2002 to 2014 (n = 21,762 observations). Social ties were assessed twofold: The number of important people in regular contact, and a six-item scale by Gierveld and van Tilburg. Furthermore, using a 5-point rating scale, satisfaction with leisure-time activities were quantified. Individuals were asked whether they provide informal care regularly.Results: Fixed effects regressions revealed that the onset of informal caregiving were not associated with changes in loneliness in the total sample and in both sexes. Besides, the onset of informal caregiving was associated with an increase in the number of individuals in regular contact in the total sample and in men, whereas it was associated with a decrease in satisfaction with leisure-time activities in the total sample and in both sexes.Conclusion: Data suggest that changes in informal caregiving were not associated with changes in loneliness. While the onset of informal caregiving was associated with an increase in the number of individuals in regular contact, it was associated with negative changes in satisfaction with leisure-time activities, emphasizing the variety of consequences that may unfold.

Differences in risk factors and chronic conditions between informal (family) carers and non-carers using a population-based cross-sectional survey in South Australia

BackgroundThere is growing discussion on the impact of informal caregiving on the health status and morbidity of family carers. Evidence suggests a proportion of carers may be at risk of...

Impact of informal caregiving on cognitive function and well-being in Canada.

Fifty-seven informal caregivers of a person with dementia or a related neurodegenerative disease (mean age = 66.26, SD = 7.55) and 97 non-caregivers (mean age = 69.16, SD = 4.84) were recruited. Neuropsychological measures of attention, cognitive flexibility, verbal learning, delayed recall, and verbal fluency were examined, and questionnaires related to perceived stress, quality of life, mood, and self-esteem were administered. Caregivers made more errors on a measure of cognitive flexibility (p = 0.02), generated fewer words on measures of phonemic fluency (p < 0.01) and semantic fluency (p < 0.001), and learned significantly fewer words on a list-learning task (p < 0.01). Caregivers also reported experiencing significantly more perceived stress (p < 0.001), lower quality of life (p < 0.001), and were more likely to meet the cut-off for clinically significant depressive symptoms on a self-report scale (p < 0.001). These data contribute to a growing body of literature that consistently points to the need for immediate action to improve the welfare of caregivers.

Does informal caregiving affect self-esteem? Results from a population-based study of individuals aged 40 and over in Germany from 2002 to 2014.

While it is known that informal caregiving is associated with care-derived self-esteem cross-sectionally, little is known about the impact of informal caregiving on general self-esteem longitudinally. Thus, we aimed at examining whether informal caregiving affects general self-esteem using a longitudinal approach. Data were gathered from a population-based sample of community-dwelling individuals aged 40 and over in Germany from 2002 to 2014 (n = 21 271). General self-esteem was quantified using the Rosenberg scale. Individuals were asked whether they provide informal care regularly. Fixed effects regressions showed no significant effect of informal caregiving on general self-esteem longitudinally. General self-esteem decreased with increasing morbidity, increasing age, decreasing social ties, whereas it was not associated with changes in employment status, marital status and body mass index. Additional models showed that decreases in self-esteem were associated with decreases in functional health and increases in depressive symptoms. Our longitudinal study emphasises that the occurrence of informal caregiving did not affect general self-esteem longitudinally. Further research is needed in other cultural settings using panel data methods.

Impact of informal caregiving on older adults’ physical and mental health in low-income and middle-income countries: a cross-sectional, secondary analysis based on the WHO’s Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE)

ObjectivesA high proportion of care stemming from chronic disease or disability in low-income and middle-income countries is provided by informal caregivers. The goal of this study was to determine the...

The role of flexible goal adjustment in the effect of informal caregiving on depressive symptoms: Evidence of a large population-based longitudinal study in Germany from 2002 to 2011.

To determine the role of flexible goal adjustment in the impact of informal caregiving on depressive symptoms, using a longitudinal approach. Data were gathered from the German Ageing Survey. This is a population-based longitudinal study among community-dwelling individuals aged 40 and above in Germany. Data were derived from the second (2002), third (2008) and fourth (2011) wave, drawing on 10,994 observations. Flexible goal adjustment was assessed using a scale by Brandstädter and Renner. Informal caregiving was measured by asking the individuals whether they provide informal care. Depressive symptoms were quantified by using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale. Adjusting for several potential confounders, fixed effects regressions showed that the onset of informal caregiving markedly increased depressive symptoms. Furthermore, regressions revealed that this effect was significantly moderated by flexible goal adjustment. Our results highlight the importance of informal caregiving for depressive symptoms. Furthermore, the importance of flexible goal adjustment in the relation between informal caregiving and depressive symptoms should be emphasized. Efforts to increase flexible goal adjustment might be beneficial in reducing depressive symptoms among informal caregivers.

The Impact of Informal Caregivers on Depressive Symptoms Among Older Adults Receiving Formal Home Health Care

This study evaluated the association between presence and types of informal caregivers and the presence of depressive symptoms among older adults receiving formal home health care (HHC). A secondary analysis of data was conducted using a computerized patient care database, the Outcome and Assessment Information Set. Logistic regression analyses were used to examine the data of 8448 patients aged 65 years or older who had been admitted to an HHC agency from acute care hospitals between January 1, 2002 and June 30, 2002. The outcome variable was the presence of depressive symptoms. The primary predictor variable was the presence and types of informal caregivers. Covariates included demographic variables, health status, length of time enrolled in formal HHC, patient living arrangements, and the frequency and types of care received from informal caregivers. A lower percentage of older adults receiving care from both informal caregivers and a formal HHC agency (13.3%) had depressive symptoms than older adults receiving only formal HHC (14.9%) at the end of a 60-day episode in formal HHC. Older adults without an informal caregiver were more likely to experience depressive symptoms than those with an informal caregiver after a 60-day episode in HHC (odds ratio = 1.229, 95% confidence interval = 1.027-1.471). There was no significant association between the types of informal caregivers and the presence of depressive symptoms.

The Impact of Informal Caregiving on Occupational Therapy: Practice Review and Analysis

The Impact of Informal Caregiving on Occupational Therapy: Practice Review and Analysis

The Impact of Informal Caregiving on Occupational Therapy: Practice Review and Analysis

Informal caregiving is becoming a recognized area of practice that requires provision of services by occupational therapists. This article reports the results of a literature review with the aim of (1) identifying significant themes that directly relate to the core philosophy of occupational therapy; (2) evaluating the role of occupational therapy in informal caregiving and (3) providing information on similar themes described by other disciplines. Themes that emerged from the review included meaning and motivation, caregiver occupations, gender roles, routines and habits, environmental modification and the adaptative process. Little research was reported in terms of longitudinal studies and mixed racial groups.