Dataset Information

Family Caregiver Perspectives on Benefits and Challenges of Caring for Older Adults With Paid Caregivers.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Many older adults receive help from both family caregivers and home care workers. We aimed to understand family caregivers' perspectives on home care workers.

Methods

This qualitative study took place at an academic medical center in New York, N.Y. We interviewed family caregivers of community-dwelling older adults about their experiences with home care workers. We analyzed transcripts thematically.

Results

We interviewed 17 family caregivers and identified four major themes: (a) home care workers provide functional and emotional support; (b) home care is logistically challenging; (c) finding the right fit between home care workers, older adults, and families is essential; and (d) home care workers and family caregivers coordinate care well beyond the initiation of home care.

Conclusion

Despite its logistical challenges, home care benefits patients and family caregivers. Given the growing prevalence of caregiving, clinicians and family caregivers might benefit from training and support about working with home care workers.

SUBMITTER: Shaw AL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7990746 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Family Caregiver Perspectives on Benefits and Challenges of Caring for Older Adults With Paid Caregivers.

Shaw Amy L AL Riffin Catherine A CA Shalev Ariel A Kaur Harveen H Sterling Madeline R MR

Journal of applied gerontology : the official journal of the Southern Gerontological Society 20200925 12

<h4>Background</h4>Many older adults receive help from both family caregivers and home care workers. We aimed to understand family caregivers' perspectives on home care workers.<h4>Methods</h4>This qualitative study took place at an academic medical center in New York, N.Y. We interviewed family caregivers of community-dwelling older adults about their experiences with home care workers. We analyzed transcripts thematically.<h4>Results</h4>We interviewed 17 family caregivers and identified four ...[more]

PMID: 32975471

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Project description:ImportanceCaregiver burden, characterized by psychological distress and physical morbidity, affects more than 50 million family caregivers of older adults in the United States. Risk factors for caregiver burden among caregivers of older trauma patients have not been well characterized.ObjectiveTo characterize postdischarge caregiver burden among caregivers of older trauma patients and identify targets that can inform interventions to improve their experience.Design, setting, and participantsThis study used a repeated cross-sectional design. Participants were family caregivers for adults 65 years or older with traumatic injury who were discharged from 1 of 2 level I trauma centers. Telephone interviews were conducted at 1 month and 3 months postdischarge with family caregivers (identified by the patient as family or friends who provided unpaid care). Admissions occurred between December 2019 and May 2021, and data were analyzed from June 2021 to May 2022.ExposureHospital admission for geriatric trauma.Main outcome and measuresHigh caregiver burden was defined by a score of 17 or higher on the 12-item Zarit Burden Interview. Caregiver self-efficacy and preparedness for caregiving were assessed via the Revised Scale for Caregiving Self-Efficacy and Preparedness for Caregiving Scale, respectively. Associations between caregiver self-efficacy, preparedness for caregiving, and caregiver burden were tested via mixed-effect logistic regression.ResultsThere were 154 family caregivers enrolled in the study. Their mean (SD) age was 60.6 (13.0) years (range, 18-92 years), 108 of 154 were female (70.6%). The proportion of caregivers experiencing high burden (Zarit Burden Interview score ≥17) was unchanged over time (1 month, 38 caregivers [30.9%]; 3 months, 37 caregivers [31.4%]). Participants with lower caregiver self-efficacy and preparedness for caregiving were more likely to experience greater caregiver burden (odds ratio [OR], 7.79; 95% CI, 2.54-23.82; P < .001; and OR, 5.76; 95% CI, 1.86-17.88; P = .003, respectively).Conclusion and relevanceThis study found that nearly a third of family caregivers of older trauma patients experience high caregiver burden up to 3 months after the patients' discharge. Targeted interventions to increase caregiver self-efficacy and preparedness may reduce caregiver burden in geriatric trauma.

Project description:BackgroundFamilies of individuals hospitalized in an intensive care unit (ICU) with severe illnesses, such as COVID-19, are experiencing a range of physical and emotional stressors. Identifying the challenges faced by family members and providing support to loved ones battling life-threatening diseases can lead to improved treatment and care for the said family members in a healthcare setting.AimThe current study was conducted to explore and understand the experiences of family caregivers caring for their loved ones battling COVID-19 in an ICU.MethodsThis descriptive qualitative study was conducted from January 2021 to February 2022, based on the experiences of 12 family caregivers of patients with COVID-19 hospitalized in the ICU. Data collection was conducted through purposeful sampling using semi-structured interviews. MAXQDA10 software was used for data management, and conventional content analysis was used for qualitative data analysis.ResultsThe present study conducted interviews with caregivers to understand their experiences while caring for a loved one in an ICU. Three main themes emerged from the analysis of these interviews: hardship of care trajectory, pre-loss mourning, and contributing factors in resolving family health crises. The first theme, the hardship of care trajectories, encompasses categories such as immersion in the unknown, lack of care facilities, negligence in care, neglect of families by healthcare providers, self-ignorance, and perceived stigma. The second these was pre-loss mourning that included some categories such as emotional and psychological turmoil, witnessing the exhaustion of loved ones, separation suffering, the fearing of loss, anticipatory grief, blame related to the disease causative agents, and perceived helplessness and despair. The third theme was contributing factors in resolving family health crises that included categories of the critical role of family caregivers in health engagement, the role of healthcare professionals in health engagement, and the role of interpersonal factors in health engagement. A total of 80 subcategories were also obtained based on the experiences of the family caregivers.ConclusionThis study's findings indicate that families can play an important role in resolving their loved ones' health problems in life-threatening situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, healthcare providers must recognize and prioritize family-based care and trust the families' ability to effectively manage health crises. Healthcare providers should also be attentive to the needs of both the patient and their family members.

Dataset Information

Family Caregiver Perspectives on Benefits and Challenges of Caring for Older Adults With Paid Caregivers.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Family Caregiver Perspectives on Benefits and Challenges of Caring for Older Adults With Paid Caregivers.

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