Background While the relation between care involvement of informal caregivers and caregiver burden is well-known, the additional psychosocial burden related to care involvement during the COVID-19 pandemic has not yet been investigated. Methods A total of 1000 informal caregivers, recruited offline, participated in a cross-sectional online survey from April 21 to May 2, 2020. Questionnaires were used to assess COVID-19-specific changes in the care situation, negative feelings in the care situation, problems with implementation of COVID-19 measures, concerns/excessive demands, loss of support, change in informal caregivers’ own involvement in care and problems with provision, comprehension & practicability of COVID-19 information, and to relate these issues to five indicators of care involvement (i.e., being the main caregiver, high expenditure of time, high level of care, dementia, no professional help). Binomial and multiple regression analyses were applied. Results Across indicators of care involvement, 25.5–39.7% reported that the care situation rather or greatly worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially for those caring for someone with dementia or those usually relying on professional help. In a multiple regression model, the mean number of involvement indicators met was associated with age (β = .18; CI .10–.25), excessive demands (β = .10, CI .00–.19), problems with implementation of COVID-19 measures (β = .11, CI .04–.19), an increase in caregiving by the informal caregivers themselves (β = .14, CI .03–.24) as well as with no change in the amount of caregiving (β = .18, CI .07–.29) and loss of support (β = −.08, CI −.16–.00). No significant associations with the mean number of involvement indicators met were found for gender, educational level, change in the care situation, negative feelings, and provision, comprehension & practicability of COVID-19 information. Conclusion Those caregivers who perceived extensive care burden were those who suffered most during the pandemic, calling for structural support by the healthcare system now and in the future. Trial registration This article does not report the results of a health care intervention on human participants.

Background: While the relation between care involvement of informal caregivers and caregiver burden is well-known, the additional burden of informal caregivers during the COVID-19 pandemic has not yet been investigated.Methods: A total of 1,000 informal caregivers, recruited offline, participated in a cross-sectional online survey from April 21 to May 2, 2020. Questionnaires were used to assess COVID-19-specific changes in the care situation, negative feelings in the care situation, problems with implementation of COVID-19 measures, concerns/excessive demands, loss of support, change in informal caregivers’ own involvement in care and problems with provision, comprehension & practicability of COVID-19 information, and to relate these issues to five indicators of care involvement (i.e., being the main caregiver, high expenditure of time, high level of care, dementia, no professional help). Binomial and multiple regression analyses were applied.Results: Across indicators of care involvement, 25.5-39.7% reported that the care situation rather or greatly worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially for those caring for someone with dementia or those usually relying on professional help. In a multiple regression model, the mean number of involvement indicators met was associated with age (β = .18; CI .10-.25), excessive demands (β = .10, CI .00-.19), problems with implementation of COVID-19 measures (β = .11, CI .04-.19), an increase in caregiving by the informal caregivers themselves (β = .14, CI .03-.24) as well as with no change in the amount of caregiving (β = .18, CI .07-.29) and loss of support (β = -.08, CI -.16-.00). No significant associations with the mean number of involvement indicators met were found for gender, educational level, change in the care situation, negative feelings, and provision, comprehension & practicability of COVID-19 information.Conclusion: Those caregivers who perceived extensive care burden were those who suffered most during the pandemic, calling for structural support by the healthcare system now and in the future.Trial registration: This article does not report the results of a health care intervention on human participants.

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ZusammenfassungDas Thema Vereinbarkeit von Beruf und Pflege ist in Deutschland gesellschaftlich relevant und nimmt zukünftig weiter an Bedeutung zu. Schon heute sind zwei von drei pflegenden Angehörigen unter 65 Jahren erwerbstätig. Arbeitnehmende, die privat Pflegeaufgaben übernehmen, stehen oft vor erheblichen Herausforderungen und drohen überdies dem Arbeitsmarkt teilweise oder vollständig entzogen zu werden. Gleichzeitig sind pflegende Angehörige die Basis der pflegerischen Versorgung im Sinne des SGB XI in Deutschland.Vereinbarkeitskonflikte werden in der Forschung als bedeutsame Stressoren für erwerbstätige pflegende Angehörige gesehen, positive Arbeitssituationen dagegen als mindestens etwas entlastend eingeschätzt. Erschwerend für die Vereinbarkeitsbemühungen wirkt sich u. a. aus, wenn die Pflegekonstellation mit einer Demenzerkrankung verbunden ist. Die Unterstützungsbemühungen von Unternehmen und Politik für erwerbstätige pflegende Angehörige haben sich in den vergangenen Jahren intensiviert, erscheinen aber nach wie vor verbesserungsbedürftig.In der aktuellen Coronavirus-Pandemie hat sich die Situation für viele pflegende Angehörige insgesamt verschärft. So zeigen die Ergebnisse der vorliegenden ZQP-Befragung, dass erwerbstätige Angehörige signifikant häufiger von einer Verschlechterung der Pflegesituation in der ersten Infektionswelle im Vergleich mit nicht-erwerbstätigen berichten. Ein Großteil der Befragten gibt an, dass die Vereinbarkeit von Pflege und Beruf nun noch schwieriger geworden sei.

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