Depression and burden among the caregivers of visually impaired patients: a systematic review

Abstract

Caregiving has evolved as an important issue not only for those receiving care, but for those providing it as well. While caregiving allows those with disabilities to better adapt, it has been shown to take a toll on the caregiver on various levels, such as invoking depression and burden. The purpose of this study was to perform a systematic review of the literature pertaining to depression and burden among caregivers of patients with visual impairment. A comprehensive literature search using multiple databases was conducted to include all articles on burden of care or depression among the caregivers of the visually impaired. Nine studies were included in this review. There was demonstrable association of depression and burden with the caregivers of the visually impaired. Communication theory, emotional contagion, and care burden were cited as factors associated with depression in these studies. A number of other elements were also identified to play a role in depression and burden, such as providing greater hours of supervision to the patient, multiple chronic conditions in the patient or caregiver, patient not completing vision rehabilitation, and female gender of the caregiver. By identifying those at risk for decreased quality of life outcomes, health care providers may be able to alter the management of the visually impaired, such as advocating the use of vision rehabilitation clinics in order to minimize the caregiver burden and depression.

Combined impairments in vision, hearing and cognition are associated with greater levels of functional and communication difficulties than cognitive impairment alone: Analysis of interRAI data for home care and long-term care recipients in Ontario

“…However, to date only a few published studies report on the influences of sensory impairments on caregiver burden. [ 73 – 78 ] We were unable to explore this relationship in the LTC cohort since the question on caregiver status is not part of the interRAI tool used in LTC settings. Although not the primary focus of the current project, future research examining the influence of sensory and/or cognitive impairment on caregiver burden by family members and professionals is warranted given that both issues are on the rise and both result in changes in communication that create challenges for both clients and their caregivers and may result in family members exiting the caregiver role and also affect the quality of care provided by personal service workers in home care or staff in LTC.…”

Parenting stress, anxiety, and depression in mothers with visually impaired infants: a cross‐sectional and longitudinal cohort analysis

“…To our knowledge, depression rates in parents have not been investigated. However, in a systematic review of caregivers (spouses, family, close friends) of adults with visual impairment, elevated depression levels and a high burden of care were reported . It is not known whether there is a relationship between the child's severity of visual impairment and parenting stress, and whether greater parenting stress results in elevated anxiety and depression in the parent.…”

“…However, in a systematic review of caregivers (spouses, family, close friends) of adults with visual impairment, elevated depression levels and a high burden of care were reported. 9 It is not known whether there is a relationship between the child's severity of visual impairment and parenting stress, and whether greater parenting stress results in elevated anxiety and depression in the parent. As lower parental well-being and increased parenting stress may affect child development and behavioural functioning, [10][11][12] we investigated these factors in mothers of children with visual impairment during the first 2 years of life.…”

Third-Party Impact of Dual Sensory Loss on Neuropsychiatric Symptom-Related Distress among Friends and Family

“…Higher visual acuity Z-scores reflect poorer vision. DOI: 10.1159/000507856 [17]. The results from this study demonstrate the potential effects of sensory loss to extend to other dyadic relationships, at least in the presence of neuropsychiatric symptoms.…”

“…For example, hearing loss has been reported to have negative effects on spousal well-being [13, 14], relationship quality [15], and caregiver burden [16]. Similar findings have been reported for carers of persons with visual impairment [17-19] and dual sensory impairment [18]. The co-occurrence of vision and hearing loss can compound the impacts of a single sensory loss owing to the removal of an important compensatory mechanism.…”