Stress among Family Caregivers of Older Persons in Singapore

Abstract

It is projected that, in the 21st century, the majority of the world's older people will be living in Asia. After Japan, Singapore is the most rapidly aging country in Asia. With an increasing life expectancy, many older persons will require health and instrumental care during later life stages. In Singapore, close to 95% of older people co-reside with family members, highlighting the importance of community support for family caregivers. Using a study of 61 principal family caregivers in Singapore, this article highlights the nature of and relationship between caregivers' stress and gender, patients' activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental ADL dependency, and caregivers' attitudes. Findings from the study suggest that female caregivers tended to be more stressed than male caregivers. Results also showed a significant inverse relationship between the level of stress experienced by caregivers and the ADL and instrumental ADL dependency of patients. Caregivers looking after patients suffering from dementia, Parkinson's disease, and hypertension were more likely to be stressed than those caring for persons with stroke, depression, and other illnesses. This article concludes by describing some implications of this research for social worker practice and for informal as well as formal support programs for family caregivers.

Informal Caregiving: Empowering Social Support Programs by Employers

“…If they want to send patients to the care centre, they have difficulties in accessing it. These problems are also experienced by respondents described by Mehta (2005), in which he explained that most of the informal caregivers (family) in Singapore are from low income group and they are in need of assistance. On average they are not able to send some patients on day care services as most of the care service centres in Singapore is undertaken by the private sector which involve fees/ cost and is expensive.…”

Family Caregiving in Dementia: The Asian Perspective of a Global Problem

“…Adult children are expected to take on the responsibilities of caring for their aging parents [8]. For example, in Singapore, close to 95% of older people co-resided with family members and depended on their family to provide health and instrumental care [9]. As the family is the primary social support system in Asian societies, dementia has a tremendous impact on the whole family.…”

Living Alone: Elderly Chinese Singaporeans

“…Older people typically prefer economic resources from their male children, and have higher expectations of caregiving from their female children (Ofstedal et al 2004). Female caregivers for the elderly experience higher levels of stress than male caregivers (Mehta 2006). Verbrugge and Chan (2007) show that in return for financial support, older parents often provide household services to their children.…”