Financial and Health Barriers and Caregiving‐Related Difficulties Among Rural and Urban Caregivers

Abstract

Informal caregivers, particularly in rural areas, face financial barriers. Rural caregivers were less likely than urban caregivers to report caregiving-related difficulties. Rural caregivers' coping strategies or skills in identifying informal supports may explain this difference, but additional research is needed to explore this hypothesis.

Informal Caregiving in a Medically Underserved Community: Challenges, Construction of Meaning, and the Caregiver–Recipient Dyad

“…In spite of this, rural caregivers perceive and report fewer caregiving challenges than their urban counterparts ( Brazil et al., 2014 ). Urban caregivers, in contrast, are more likely to report caregiving challenges of the emotional type ( Bouldin et al., 2017 ; Ehrlich, Bostrom, Mazaheri, Heikkila, & Emami, 2015 ). The reason suggested is that rural caregivers may be more emotionally self-reliant ( Easter Seals and National Alliance for Caregiving, 2006 ) and thus better able to use “approach-based” coping strategies such as positive reframing, seeking social support, and problem-solving (O'Connell, Germaine, Burton, Stewart, & Morgan, 2013 ).…”

“…The burden is largely attributed to the numerous unmet needs and barriers that informal caregivers encounter ( Bee, Barnes, & Luker, 2009 ; Clayton, Butow, & Tattersall, 2005 ; Hudson, Aranda, & Kristjanson, 2004 ; Lafortune, Huson, Santi, & Stolee, 2015 ; Tallman, Greenwald, Reidenouer, & Pantel, 2012 ). Two types of needs—“instrumental” and “emotional”—have been frequently reported in studies of informal caregivers in home care settings, across urban and rural populations ( Bouldin, Shaull, Andresen, Edwards, & McGuire, 2017 ; Brazil, Kaasalainen, Williams, & Dumont, 2014 ). A subset labeled “informational” needs was paramount to family caregivers of adults with acquired brain injury ( Gan, Gargaro, Brandys, Gerber, & Boschen, 2010 ; Longacre, Galloway, Parvanta, & Fang, 2015 ).…”

“…The salience of instrumental and emotional needs differs somewhat between rural and urban informal caregivers. In general, informal rural caregivers appear to have greater unmet needs/barriers for instrumental activities of daily living, for example, administering medications, grocery shopping, and preparing meals ( Brazil et al., 2014 ), and because of lower income levels, they are also more likely to have financial barriers than their urban peers ( Bouldin et al., 2017 ). In spite of this, rural caregivers perceive and report fewer caregiving challenges than their urban counterparts ( Brazil et al., 2014 ).…”

The Determinants of Quality of Life in Thai Family Caregivers of Stroke Survivors

“…This consistent finding has led to efforts to quantify the cost associated with informal care by families and to consider providing employee benefits or government subsidies to support family caregiving, especially for women who leave employment to care for parents who need care. 35,36,37 In relation to an age issue, the finding in this study revealed that about one third of the participants aged 60 years old and older. Although some previous study 38 found that the more advanced age, the more mature and experienced people have in care providing skills.…”

Challenges of Using Secondary Data to Study Rural Caregiving within the United States

“…Scholarship is clear in demonstrating burdens that accrue to caregivers, as evidenced by individual studies and meta‐analyses highlighting poorer physical and psychological health (e.g., Bidwell, Lyons, and Lee 2017; Pinquart and Sörensen 2003, 2007). As they negotiate the complexities of providing care, rural caregivers face additional challenges of less social support, greater isolation, fewer financial resources, more limited access to workplace supports, and barriers to accessing formal services (Bouldin et al 2018; Egdell et al 2010; Ehrlich, Boström, Mazaheri, and Heikkilä 2015; Henning‐Smith and Lahr 2019; Kaufman, Kosberg, Leeper, and Tang 2010) that are unevenly developed across geographic spaces (Herron, Rosenberg, and Skinner 2016). Compared to their urban counterparts, rural caregivers report lower self‐rated health (Crouch, Probst, and Bennett 2017).…”