Caregivers of Older Persons With Multiple Sclerosis

Abstract

The challenges older caregivers face when caring for older persons with MS have been shown to affect their mental and physical QOL. Nurses who care for older patients with MS will increasingly rely on older caregivers to provide patient-centered interventions. This descriptive study, based on the Anderson theoretical model, provides insight on factors impacting older caregivers' HRQOL. Further research is necessary to elucidate the types of interventions that support them as they care for older patients with MS.

Informal carers’ experiences of caring for someone with Multiple Sclerosis: A photovoice investigation

“…For instance, challenges related to caregiving and MS were described as a compromise to carers' QoL. This supports quantitative studies showing that MS symptoms, caregiving demands, environmental and financial barriers are significant predictors of carer burden and poor QoL (Akkus, 2011;Alshubaili, Ohaeri, Awadalla, & Mabrouk, 2008;Buhse, Ratta, Galiczewski, & Eckardt, 2015;van der Hiele et al, 2019;Katsavos et al, 2017;Rivera-Navarro et al, 2009). Participants also frequently reported missing out on social activities and having poorer health due to MS caregiving which appeared to play an important role in their QoL.…”

Self-Care for Caregivers of Individuals Living With Multiple Sclerosis: Testing Mediation Models of Caregiver Stress, Health, and Self-Care

“…Additionally, other health factors, such as number of and specifics about concurrent health condition(s), could have been included. 2 However, the health variables included in the current study have been shown to associate significantly with caregiver stress and mirror those tested in similar models. 2,7,8,10,17 Lastly, as mentioned, due to researcher error one of the six domains of the caregiver selfcare scale was not included in analyses here.…”

“…1 Unlike other neurological diseases, MS often is diagnosed in young adulthood and only minimally affects life expectancy. 2 There is no known way to predict the onset of an MS relapse, the symptoms the patient will experience, or the progression of the disease. 3 MS often leads to increasing disability, causing the individual to depend on caregivers as the disease progresses.…”

“…Compared to caregivers of individuals with other chronic conditions, caregivers of individuals with MS often start caregiving earlier in life and may remain in this role, often with increasing projected disability, for decades. 2 For example, over 80% of family caregivers of individuals with MS have reported that the demands placed on their time interfere with their lives to a significant amount, including social role functioning (i.e., obligations with family, friends, and career). 14 Additionally, evidence suggests that caregivers of individuals living with MS might be at greater risk for depression than caregivers of individuals with other neurological conditions.…”

“…6,16 The current study explores associations between stress, health, and self-care in caregivers of individuals living with MS. We replicate and test a previously-tested mediation model among caregivers of individuals living with dementia to understand these associations among caregivers of individuals living with MS. 10 Consistent with the previous model, we operationalize caregiver health in multiple ways that are empirically supported and that are relevant to the study population-negative affect, tiredness, pain, and physical and social functioning. 2,7,8,10,17 We hypothesize that caregiver stress will predict caregiver self-care (C path), that caregiver stress will predict caregiver health (A path), and that caregiver health will predict caregiver self-care after controlling for caregiver stress (B path). See Figure 1 for a depiction of the tested model, in which C' represents the relation between caregiver stress and caregiver self-care after controlling for caregiver health.…”