Elderly caregivers living in urban, rural and high social vulnerability contexts

Abstract

OBJECTIVE Comparing the differences in the sociodemographic, care and health profiles of elderly caregivers of the elderly living in urban, rural, and high social vulnerability contexts. METHOD A cross-sectional study developed with elderly caregivers enrolled in the Family Health Units of a municipality in the interior of São Paulo. Household interviews and evaluations were conducted on: Activities of Daily Living (ADL), self-reported pain, frailty, cognition, life satisfaction, family functionality, burden, stress and hope. RESULTS A total of 343 elderly caregivers of elderly individuals participated in the study, of which 55.1% lived in an urban context, 23.6% in rural areas, and 21.3% in a context of high social vulnerability. The majority of elderly caregivers were women across the three contexts, with a median age of 67 years and caring for their spouse. Caregivers from regions of high social vulnerability had lower education level, received less emotional and material help to care, were less satisfied with life, more fragile, in more cognitive decline, had worse family functionality and a lower level of hope when compared to caregivers of urban and rural contexts (p≤0.05). However, caregivers from areas of high vulnerability were more independent for ADL. CONCLUSION Professionals working in Primary Care should consider these differences when planning interventions aimed at the specific group of caregivers.

Cumulative effects of cognitive impairment and frailty on functional decline, falls and hospitalization: A four-year follow-up study with older adults

“…This result is in agreement with data described in previous studies conducted in Brazil. 2,13,26 Approximately 30% of the participants exhibited cognitive impairment. The same rate is reported in a Chinese study involving 480 participants using the same instrument for cognitive screening (MMSE) with cutoff points adjusted for education, in which women had a greater probability of cognitive impairment.…”

Limited formal education is strongly associated with lower cognitive status, functional disability and frailty status in older adults

“…Interviews were conducted by trained research assistants (AB; BL; MT; ER; NO; EN) 23 at the participants’ homes, and interviews lasted between 1-2 hours. The assistants were professionals in Nursing and Gerontology fields.…”

Association between perceived social support and better cognitive performance among caregivers and non-caregivers

“…These differences may be related to the family arrangements of individuals who offer care to a spouse and reside with a larger number of people, which consequently leads to a larger family income. A previous study conducted in Brazil with 343 older caregivers living in different contexts found that the majority who provided care for a spouse resided with two or three people (27) .…”