Pragmatic and Internal Validity Issues in Sampling in Caregiver Studies

Fredman, Lisa; Tennstedt, Sharon L.; Smyth, Kathleen A.; Kasper, Judith D.; Miller, Baila; Fritsch, Thomas; Watson, Maura A.; Harris, Emily

doi:10.1177/0898264303262639

Cited by 25 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 44 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This sample was identified in two phases, described in detail elsewhere (Fredman et al, 2004). The first phase consisted of administering a caregiver screening questionnaire to 5,952 SOF participants who had their sixth biennial examination at their home or a SOF clinic and were not cognitively impaired or living in a long-term care facility.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Caregiving and Cognitive Function in Older Women

et al. 2011

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objectives Recent findings of better health outcomes in older caregivers than noncaregivers suggest a healthy caregiver hypothesis (HCH) model may be more appropriate than the stress process model for evaluating the health effects of caregiving. In a cross-sectional study, we tested the HCH on two cognitive domains: verbal memory and processing speed. Method Participants from the Caregiver Study of Osteoporotic Fractures who had a 2-year follow-up interview were categorized as continuous caregivers (n = 194), former caregivers (n = 148), or continuous noncaregivers (n = 574). The Hopkins Verbal Learning Test (HVLT; memory) and Digit Symbol Substitution Task (DSST; processing speed) were administered at the follow-up interview. Results Continuous caregivers had better memory performance and processing speed than continuous noncaregivers: adjusted mean scores for HVLT were 18.38 versus 15.80 (p < .0001), and for DSST were 35.91 versus 34.38 (p = .09). Discussion Results support the HCH model for cognitive outcomes in older women caregivers; however, the relationship may be domain specific.

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Caregiving and Cognitive Function in Older Women

et al. 2011

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The large number of black and male respondents allowed us to compare associations across race-gender subgroups. Moreover, in contrast to most studies of caregivers which are based on registries or convenience samples 43 , the Health ABC sample constitutes a population-based sample of community-dwelling adults. Thus, the results are not likely to be biased by the types of caregivers who would volunteer for studies, and are generalizable to community-dwelling adults in their seventies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Caregiving, Mortality, and Mobility Decline<subtitle>The Health, Aging, and Body Composition (Health ABC) Study</subtitle>

et al. 2008

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Although caregivers report more stress than noncaregivers, few studies have found greater health decline in older caregivers. We hypothesized that caregivers may be more physically active than noncaregivers, which may protect them from health decline. Methods:The sample included 3075 healthy adults from the Health, Aging, and Body Composition (Health ABC) Study. They were aged 70 to 79 years in April 1997 to June 1998 and resided in Memphis, Tennessee, or Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Caregivers (680 [22.1%]) were participants who provided regular care or assistance for a child or a disabled or sick adult. Outcomes included allcause mortality and incident mobility limitation (defined as difficulty walking one-quarter mile or climbing 10 steps on 2 consecutive semiannual contacts) during 8 years. Total physical activity included daily routine, exercise, and caregiving activity.Results: Overall, 20.6% of caregivers died and 50.9% de-veloped mobility limitations vs 22.0% and 48.9% of noncaregivers, respectively. Associations differed by race and sex. Mortality and mobility limitation rates were 1.5 times higher in white caregivers (eg, among white female caregivers, adjusted hazard ratio for mortality, 1.6; 95% confidence interval, 1.0-2.5) but not for black female caregivers vs noncaregivers (adjusted hazard ratio for mortality, 0.9; 95% confidence interval, 0.5-1.4). Physical activity mediated these associations in most race-sex groups. High-intensity caregivers (ie, caregiving Ն24 hours per week) had elevated rates of decline when adjusted for physical activity but lower rates when not adjusted for activity. Conclusion:Older white caregivers have poorer health outcomes than black female caregivers. Physical activity appears to mask the adverse effects of high-intensity caregiving in most race-sex groups.

show abstract

“…17 SOF is a prospective cohort study of risk factors for fractures and falls among women.SOF included 9,704 women aged 65 and older recruited between 1986 and 1988 from population-based listings in four areas of the United States: Baltimore, Maryland; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Portland, Oregon; and the Monongahela Valley, Pennsylvania. 18 Women were excluded if they were unable to walk without help or had a history of bilateral hip replacement.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The study sample was identified in two phases, described in detail elsewhere. 17 The first phase consisted of administering a caregiver screening questionnaire to community-dwelling participants who had their 6th biennial examination and were not cognitively impaired. The second phase began in 1999, and consisted of re-administering the screening questionnaire by telephone to all participants who had been identified by the initial screening questionnaire as caregivers and to a subset of participants who had been identified as non-caregivers.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Depressive Symptoms Among Dementia Caregivers: Role of Mediating Factors

Givens

Mezzacappa

Heeren

et al. 2014

The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objectives To compare depressive symptoms between caregivers to persons with dementia and other illnesses, and determine whether caregiver role captivity and care recipient disruptive behaviors mediate this association. Design Prospective cohort study of older women in four U.S. communities followed from 1999 to 2009. Setting Home-based interviews. Participants 345 caregiving participants from the Caregiver-Study of Osteoporotic Fractures. Measurements Caregiver status based on self-report of performing one or more instrumental or basic activities of daily living for care recipient. Depressive symptoms measured using the 20-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Scores of 16 or greater represented high depressive symptoms. Caregiver role captivity and care recipient problematic behaviors measured using validated instruments. Results Approximately one-third of the caregivers cared for a person with dementia. High depressive symptoms were more common among dementia caregivers (22.8% vs. 11.2%, p <0.001), (unadjusted odds ratio [OR] 2.12, 95% CI 1.20-3.74). This association was completely mediated by caregiver role captivity and care recipient problematic behaviors. In adjusted results, high depressive symptoms was associated with middle and highest tertiles of role captivity (adjusted odds ratios [AOR] 5.01, 95% CI 2.31-11.05 and 9.41, 95% CI 3.95-22.40 for the middle and highest tertiles, respectively) and care recipient problematic behaviors (AOR 2.52 95% CI 1.02-6.19 and 5.26, 95% CI 2.00-13.8 for each tertile, respectively). Conclusions Older caregivers to persons with dementia are at increased risk of high depressive symptoms. Targeting problematic behaviors among dementia patients and addressing aspects of dementia care that result in role captivity may ameliorate caregiver depression.

show abstract

Pragmatic and Internal Validity Issues in Sampling in Caregiver Studies

Abstract: Regardless of sampling frame, standard task-based inclusion criteria to define caregivers may enhance validity.

Cited by 25 publications

References 44 publications

Caregiving and Cognitive Function in Older Women

Caregiving and Cognitive Function in Older Women

Caregiving, Mortality, and Mobility Decline<subtitle>The Health, Aging, and Body Composition (Health ABC) Study</subtitle>

Depressive Symptoms Among Dementia Caregivers: Role of Mediating Factors

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About