Aging
The Association between Caregiving Patterns and the Burdens and Benefits of Caregiving Talha Ali* Talha Ali Gail McAvay Joan Monin Thomas M Gill
BACKGROUND: Several studies have documented the burdens of caregiving in family and other unpaid caregivers of older adults. Little is known about the benefits of caregiving among these helpers. Using a previous typology of care types, we examine whether caregivers providing different types of care report different levels of burdens and benefits.
METHODS: Using data from the 2015 and 2017 rounds of the National Health and Aging Trends Study (1423 care recipients) and the National Study of Caregiving (2146 caregivers), we assess caregiving burden in the domains of financial, emotional, and physical difficulties and caregiving benefits, including increased confidence, ability to deal with difficult situations, and closeness to the care recipient.
RESULTS: Results of the logistic regression models show that caregivers in care types that provide more hours of care and help with mobility, self-care, and household tasks are more likely to experience physical burden. Yet, they are also more likely to report that caregiving increased their ability to deal with difficult situations.
CONCLUSIONS: The type of care provided, defined in terms of caregiving intensity, regularity, and specific activities, has distinct implications for caregiving-related burdens and benefits. Findings suggest that physicians should periodically assess the type of care provided to their patients to gauge anticipated burdens or benefits caregivers might experience and their implications for the care recipient’s health. Findings also have implications for caregiving interventions, which should identify coping strategies that not only reduce caregiving-associated burdens but also increase caregiving-associated benefits for caregivers.