This critical review of 29 studies published through 1996 on the gain experienced among informal caregivers of older adults, identifies 13 conceptual (i.e., definitions and theoretical frameworks) and methodological (i.e., sampling, design, measurement, analysis) observations. Key limitations of prior research are highlighted and recommendations necessary for the advancement of research in this area of inquiry are made. Drawing upon relevant theoretical frameworks and the observations noted in this review, a conceptual framework is proposed to bring some consistency to the ways in which future research on positive aspects of caregiving proceeds.
Given that women predominate in the caregiving role, researchers have largely focused on the experience of female caregivers. This cross-sectional study takes a beginning step toward understanding the differential predictors of negative (i.e., strain) and positive (i.e., gain) appraisals among 74 husbands caring for wives with dementia. Using a multivariate model of caregiver adaptation, results indicated that social resources and health were important for understanding the variation in both positive and negative appraisals. Unique predictors of strain included memory and behavior problems, and emotion-focused coping. Alternatively, education and problem-focused coping helped to explain variation found in appraisal of caregiver role gain. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
This study investigated gender differences in caregiving tasks, role strains, and resources to account for gender variations in burden among a probability sample of employed, nonspousal caregivers (N = 413). Females were more likely to assist with care provision tasks, to report work role strains, and to experience higher levels of burden than males. After controlling for known sociodemographic dissimilarities in predicting burden, the effect of gender decreased at each step when caregiver tasks, work role strains, and resources were entered into the regression equation. Results suggest that these differences may partially explain the greater negative impact experienced by nonspousal, female caregivers.
Background: This study aimed to understand how caregivers make the transition to end-stage caregiving and to illuminate its unique aspects using a stress process model.Methods: Qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with 74 caregivers of a family member who had been receiving hospice care for at least 2 weeks. Interviews were tape recorded, transcribed, and coded for emergent themes using constant comparative analysis.Results: End-stage caregiving was characterized in the sample as (1) comprehension of terminality (the interrelationship of information, physical and cognitive decline, and personality change and role losses), (2) near-acute care, (3) executive functions, and (4) final decision making. The comprehension of terminality emerged from three interrelated experiences: receiving and assimilating concrete information about the illness, observing the progression of the disease, and observing the personality change and role loss. The primary stressors (unique end-stage caregiving tasks) were providing near-acute care, assuming an executive function, and beginning and final decision making. The secondary stressors were family role conflict, work conflict, and financial strain. Resources, such as intrinsic and extrinsic religious and faith practices and social support, were identified. Negative outcomes included intense emotional responses, and positive outcomes included heightened development of meaning making.Conclusion: The findings suggest that palliative care professionals have important opportunities to provide information and support to family caregivers during the final stages of the patient's terminal illness.
Implications for routine assessment and screening to identify families at risk and recommendations for the development and testing of interventions to facilitate shared decision making and enhance open communication among at-risk families are highlighted.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.