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Results for “Positive aspects of caregiving”

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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2002

Positive aspects of caregiving: rounding out the caregiver experience.

OBJECTIVES: To identify positive aspects of caregiving and examine how they are associated with caregiver outcomes. METHOD: This study used a national sample of caregivers derived from the Canadian Study of Health and Aging (part 2). Two hundred and eighty-nine caregivers caring for seniors living in the community were questioned about their experience of caregiving. Caregivers were asked whether they could identify any positive aspects related to their role, the type of positive aspects and to rate their feelings about caring. Using a conceptual model developed by Noonan and Tennstedt (1997), a staged stepwise multiple regression approach was used factoring the background/contextual variables, stressor variables (3 MS score, ADL limitations), mediator variables (positive aspects of caregiving, number of services used) and outcome variables (depression, burden and self-assessed health measures) into the model. RESULTS: Two hundred and eleven caregivers (73%) could identify at least one specific positive aspect of caregiving. An additional 20 (6.9%) could identify more than one positive aspect. Positive feelings about caring were associated with lower CES-D scores ( p<0.001), lower burden scores ( p<0.001) and better self assessed health ( p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Clinicians should inquire about the positive aspects of caregiving if they are to fully comprehend the caregiver experience and identify risk factors for negative caregiver outcomes.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed2004

Positive aspects of caregiving and adaptation to bereavement.

This study examined how positive aspects of caregiving affect adaptation to bereavement among older adults who cared for a family member with dementia. The sample consisted of 217 caregivers who were part of the Resources for Enhancing Alzheimer's Caregiver Health Study. Using pre- and postloss data, hierarchical regressions were carried out to examine the effects of positive aspects of caregiving (caregiving benefit) on postloss depression and grief. Findings show that preloss caregiving benefit was associated with higher levels of postloss depression and grief, even after controlling for caregiver demographic characteristics, contextual factors, and caregiving burden. This effect was particularly strong for the relation between benefit and grief. Results demonstrate the importance of studying both positive and negative aspects of caregiving and their relation to bereavement outcomes.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2001

Subjective responses to caregiving for a spouse with dementia.

Family members, typically spouses, serve as the primary caregivers for individuals with dementia. While it is recognized that caregivers experience both positive and negative subjective responses to caregiving, relatively little research has been done on the relationship between these types of responses. The objectives of the study were to examine the relationships between and among spouse caregivers' positive and negative subjective responses to caregiving, and increase understanding of the experience of being a spouse caregiver for a person with dementia. Fifty spouse caregivers completed quantitative measures of positive subjective responses (Positive Aspects of Caregiving and Caregiver Competence) and negative subjective responses (Relational Deprivation, Role Captivity, and Loss of Self). Additionally, participants were interviewed concerning their caregiving experiences. Positive Aspects of Caregiving and Caregiving Competence were significantly related to each other (p < .01), as were the three measures of negative subjective responses (p < .01). No significant correlations were found between any measures of a positive and a negative subjective response, suggesting the two types of responses are independent. Duration of caregiving was significantly related to Positive Aspects of Caregiving (p < .05), Caregiver Competence (p < .05), and Relational Deprivation (p < .01). Qualitative interview data revealed that participants simultaneously experienced caregiving as self-affirming, while also enduring losses and difficulties resulting from their caregiving role. Integrating the positive and negative aspects of the whole of caregiving is important to understand the caregiving experience and to design interventions to support caregivers.

Aged↗

PubMed2004

A positive aspect of caregiving: the influence of social support on caregiving gains for family members of relatives with schizophrenia.

This study examines family members' caregiving gains as a result of caring for their relatives with schizophrenic spectrum disorders, and the influence of formal and informal social support on these positive experiences. The results from interviews with 560 family members support that the experience of caregiving gains is prevalent. Moreover, formal support from mental health professionals through information sharing and collaborative interactions with family members, and informal support from other family members, support group participation, and contributions from the relative with mental illness all have significant, positive associations with family members' experiences of caregiving gains.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Positive aspects of Alzheimer's caregiving: the role of race.

We examined differences in positive aspects of caregiving (PAC) among 275 African American and 343 Caucasian caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer's disease from the National Institutes of Health Resources for Enhancing Alzheimer's Care Health (REACH) study sites in Birmingham, Memphis, and Philadelphia. African Americans reported higher scores on PAC than did Caucasians. African Americans' higher religiosity partially mediated the relationship between race and PAC. Additional variables that contributed to their higher PAC scores were African Americans' lower anxiety, lower feelings of bother by the care recipient's behavior, and lower socioeconomic status.

Aged↗

PubMed2005

Factors associated with the positive impact of caring for elderly and dependent relatives.

Until recent years, the research on caregivers of dependent dwelling elder subjects has dealt with the negative aspects of caregiving (e.g. depression, anxiety, anger). Recently, however, the positive aspects of caregiving have received considerable attention, although it is difficult to define these characteristics. The aim of this study is to determine some factors which can be seen as predictors of the positive aspects experienced by caregivers. We have carried out a cross-sectional study on 111 informal caregivers of dependent elderly patients who were assessed by a semi-structured interview and by standardised questionnaires. The Caregiving Satisfaction Scale was used as the main outcome measure. Caregivers experienced high levels of caregiving satisfaction (mean +/- S.D. = 22.38+/-5.39). In most cases, caring for elderly and dependent relatives had a positive impact on caregivers. Multiple regression analyses revealed that satisfaction was associated with better previous affectionate relationships between the caregivers and the dependents, with being caregiver by own initiative, with maintaining leisure time, with less use of venting emotions, and with caregiver not working out of home. These findings suggest that the positive aspects of caregiving are mainly related to specific characteristics of the caregivers. Furthermore, caregiving satisfaction was not related to aspects of the stressors.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed2000

Elder care: a positive approach to caregiving.

The primary focus of caregiving research over the past two decades has centered on the negative aspects of the caregiving process. The purpose of this paper is to show that there are positive aspects to caregiving and the importance of refocusing attention to this area. Lack of information regarding the positive dimensions of caregiving alters perceptions of the caregiving experience and limits the ability to enhance theory related to caregiver adaptation. Understanding positive aspects of caregiving may help clinicians and practitioners work more effectively with the family caregiver.

Aged↗

PubMed2002

The experience of providing care to relatives with chronic mental illness.

Research on family caregivers of mentally ill relatives has historically focused on negative aspects of caregiving, often described as caregiver burden. The authors document caregivers' perspectives on both the negative and positive aspects of caregiving. A qualitative approach was used. Data collection involved 20 in-depth, audiotaped, semistructured interviews focusing on caregivers' positive and negative personal experiences with caregiving to a relative with mental illness. Caregivers reported common negative impacts but also beneficial effects, such as feelings of gratification, love, and pride. Main themes included stigma, systems issues, life lessons learned, and love and caring for the ill relative. This study counterbalances the predominantly negative consequences previously reported and adds to the emerging literature on positive aspects of caregiving. Mental health professionals need to help caregiving families make choices to improve their challenging situations and identify the rewards of caregiving, and to advocate for increased systemic supports to ease caregiver burden.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Dimension-specific burden of caregiving among partners of rheumatoid arthritis patients.

OBJECTIVES: To assess subjective caregiver burden among partners of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and to identify partner and patient variables and objective caregiver burden related to subjective caregiver burden. METHODS: In 2001, 134 patients diagnosed with RA and their caregiving partners participated in a postal questionnaire survey. Information was gathered on age, gender and health problems of patient and partner, disease duration of the patient, objective caregiver burden and subjective caregiver burden of the partner (using the multidimensional Caregiver Reaction Assessment). Correlation coefficients were computed between the subjective caregiver burden dimensions. Multivariate analyses were performed to identify variables that explained the variation in subjective burden. RESULTS: Partners of RA patients derived, on average, a high level of self-esteem from giving care. Negative subjective caregiver burden was to a large degree caused by a disrupted schedule and to a smaller degree by a lack of family support, financial problems and loss of physical strength. Problems of the partner with mobility or with pain/discomfort and problems of the patient with self-care activities and activities of daily life had the largest impact on negative levels of subjective caregiver burden. CONCLUSIONS: Health parameters of the patient and partner have a considerable predictive value for the development of high levels of subjective burden in partners of RA patients. Support strategies should be developed for partners of RA patients, and should focus especially on reducing the burden caused by a disrupted schedule, and simultaneously on increasing the focus of caregivers on the positive aspects of caregiving.

Adult↗

PubMed1999

Finding meaning through caregiving: development of an instrument for family caregivers of persons with Alzheimer's disease.

Systematic assessment of the positive aspects of caregiving has been limited by the lack of comprehensive, theoretically based, and psychometrically sound measures. This study developed and tested a measure primarily designed to assess positive aspects and ways that caregivers find meaning through their experience of caring for a person with dementia. The measure has three subscales: Loss/Powerlessness, which identifies difficult aspects of caregiving; Provisional Meaning, which identifies how caregivers find day-to-day meaning; and Ultimate Meaning, which identifies philosophical/religious/spiritual attributions associated with the experience of caregiving. The measure is useful for understanding the close relationship between both the difficult and positive aspects of caregiving and also may be used to identify a caregiver's strengths in clinical and research settings.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2005

Worksite-based internet multimedia program for family caregivers of persons with dementia.

PURPOSE: Our goal was to evaluate the efficacy of a multimedia support program delivered over the Internet to employed family caregivers of persons with dementia. DESIGN AND METHODS: The evaluation of this program involved 299 employed family caregivers participating in a pretest-posttest randomized clinical trial with a 30-day follow-up and a waitlist control condition. Validated instruments include the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression scale, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Caregiver Strain scale from Benjamin Rose, and Positive Aspects of Caregiving used in the nationwide REACH study. RESULTS: Those who viewed Caregiver's Friend: Dealing with Dementia 30 days postexposure demonstrated significant improvements in depression, anxiety, level and frequency of stress, caregiver strain, self-efficacy, and intention to seek help, as well as perceptions of positive aspects of caregiving. IMPLICATIONS: Interactive multimedia interventions delivered over the Internet appear to be uniquely suited to provide low-cost, effective, convenient, individually tailored programs that present educational information, cognitive and behavioral skills, and affective learning opportunities. This makes Web-based multimedia a promising avenue for work-life balance programs, employee-assistance providers, and organizations interested in improving family caregiver health and well-being.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Comparing the well-being of post-caregivers and noncaregivers.

Researchers who study family caregiving have begun to recognize the need to broaden the realm of inquiry to include the exploration of the positive aspects of caregiving as well as conceptualizing caregiving on a continuum from the pre-caregiving phase through the post-caregiving phase. Additionally, researchers are urged to use control groups in research. This study complements the current trends by examining the positive aspects of caregiving among former caregivers. Specifically, the well-being of post-caregivers is compared to that of noncaregivers. Bivariate analyses examine the factors that are significantly different between former caregivers and noncaregivers. Results show that former caregivers have higher well-being than noncaregivers. In the multivariate model, only one subscale of well-being (basic needs) is different between the two groups. Implications of this research are discussed.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed2000

The family caregiver of the older cancer patient.

Cancer care is becoming increasingly complex. The health care practices of the present day make it imperative that the family provide assistance in the day-to-day management of a patient's symptoms and in the implementation of home care. This increased responsibility for the family caregiver can come at great cost to the overall functioning of the family, because of role changes, changes in the family structure, and financial stressors, among others. Caregivers can experience adverse effects on their mental and physical health that can remain long after the caregiving role has ended. Although much of the research has focused on the negative elements of caregiving, it must be remembered that there are positive aspects to caregiving, which are now receiving attention in the research literature. Although other factors affect caregiving, the model of factors important in the caregiving experience presented in this article may provide the impetus for studying the relationships among these different factors. Results of these studies will allow the development of specific interventions to help caregivers be more effective in their caregiving role and, at the same time, address the overall impact of caregiving on the family.

Aged↗

PubMed1997

The measurement of caregiver outcomes in Alzheimer disease research.

The focus of this paper is on the measurement of outcomes for caregivers of patients with Alzheimer disease and related disorders. The discussion addresses theory-based and proven measures and seven major measurement domains: health effects, caregiver characteristics and contextual measures, service utilization, burden, positive aspects of caregiving, quality of care provided, and measures related to normative caregiver transitions such as institutionalization and death of the care recipient. Also provided are a brief summary of existing measurement approaches for assessing caregiver outcomes and general recommendations regarding the measurement of caregiver outcomes.

Alzheimer Disease↗

PubMed2004

Ethnicity and time to institutionalization of dementia patients: a comparison of Latina and Caucasian female family caregivers.

OBJECTIVES: To compare rates of institutionalization of dementia patients cared for by Latina and Caucasian female caregivers and to explore which caregiver and care-recipient characteristics predicted institutionalization. DESIGN: Longitudinal. SETTING: San Francisco Bay area, California. PARTICIPANTS: Two hundred sixty-four female caregivers of dementia patients (154 Caucasian women, 110 Latinas) who participated in an intervention project designed to reduce caregiver stress and may represent a sample that is more stressed and motivated than a general sample of caregivers. MEASUREMENTS: Number of days between baseline interview and institutionalization was recorded over an 18-month period. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis with the log rank statistic was used to test for ethnic differences in time to institutionalization. Cox regression analyses were conducted to determine whether care-recipient or caregiver characteristics (e.g., care-recipient age and memory and behavior problems; caregiver depression, years of education, income, and views of the caregiving role) significantly interacted with ethnicity to explain time to institutionalization. RESULTS: Latinas delayed institutionalization significantly longer than their Caucasian counterparts; care-recipient characteristics or caregiver demographics did not explain these results, although Latinas who identified greater benefits or more-positive aspects of the caregiving process at baseline were less likely to institutionalize their loved one than those who reported fewer benefits of caregiving. Less-acculturated Latinas were significantly more likely to identify positive aspects of caregiving than more-acculturated Latinas. CONCLUSION: Latina dementia caregivers delay institutionalization significantly longer than female Caucasian caregivers. In addition, Latino cultural values and positive views of the caregiving role are important factors that may significantly influence their decision to institutionalize loved ones with dementia.

Aged↗

PubMed1999

Evaluating the effectiveness of short-term treatment at a university counseling center.

The effectiveness of short-term treatment provided to 55 students treated at a university counseling center was evaluated. The Symptom Checklist-90-R was administered at intake and at the termination of treatment for 41 clients, and at initial intake, again after a 6-week no-treatment waiting list period, and again at the termination of treatment, for 14 clients. Statistically and clinically significant improvements in SCL-90-R scores were obtained following counseling for those receiving immediate treatment. Clients in the waiting list condition did not improve until after receiving treatment. This study adds to the existing empirical literature suggesting that university counseling centers provide effective treatment. experience of caregiving. The measure is useful for understanding the close relationship between both the difficult and positive aspects of caregiving and also may be used to identify a caregiver's strengths in clinical and research settings.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2005

[Caregivers of elderly people with loss of autonomy in Lebanon: what is the context of their health care?].

The primary objective of this pan Lebanese study was to describe the health care context of family caregivers cohabiting with an elderly relative with loss of autonomy while the secondary objective consisted in the qualitative documentation of their positive and negative perceptions as to the role of the caregivers. The study uses a theoretical framework of stress. The results indicate that the caregivers (N = 319) take care of relatives (40% with memory troubles) having a moderate level of loss of autonomy and who present more depressive behaviors than "disturbing" behaviors. The caregivers are particularly affected by the behaviors of their relatives. They accomplish several health care tasks and very few receive formal services to support them. Their neighborhood offers them more emotional support than instrumental support. More caregivers perceive positive aspects than negative aspects in their role. Recommendations are formulated to guide the elaboration of a national policy of support to caregivers and the development of innovative community care practices.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed1997

Aging issues in the workplace. Assisting workers who provide eldercare.

1. With increased aged, chronic disabilities that limit the ability to provide self care also increase. As self care declines, elderly persons depend on their children for assistance. 2. Families provide 80% of home based care for the elderly. Employees' children often provide care. 3. Caregiving has both positive and negative aspects. Caregiving often leads to psychological stress and, over time, physical illness for the caregiver. 4. Occupational health nurses can assist employee caregivers in protecting their own health and locating services for their care recipients.

Aging↗