The Effects of Alternative Support Strategies on Family Caregiving

Abstract

Family units (N = 541) of impaired elderly persons and caregivers were randomly assigned to a control group or one of five treatment groups eligible for a variety of respite or educational services. After 12 months of service eligibility, caregivers of elderly persons remaining in the community reported lower levels of subjective burden. Services appeared to delay nursing home placement among families with adult child caregivers, but encouraged placement by spouse caregivers.

Caregiving on the edge: the situation of family caregivers to older persons in Botswana

“…Batswana caregivers expressed a need to be able to meet basic survival needs, such as food, sanitation, soap and shelter. In contrast, the Western literature focusses on the need for flexible work schedules, psychological counselling, respite care and the provision o f supportive assistance (Biegel & Blum, 1990;Crossman, London & Barry, 1981;Hooyman, 1992;Montgomery & Borgatta, 1989;Montgom ery & Prothero, 1986). Such needs were not even considered by caregivers in Botswana, who are still struggling with basic physical, material and survival needs.…”

The informal caregiver's burden of dependent people: Theory and empirical review

“…In fact, this distinction obeys the specific development of the burden concept and points to the multidimensionality of the impact of care (Montgomery and Borgatta, 1989). Thus, in the first moment, the burden term was elaborated as a subjective perception of the impact of care by the caregiver, where subjective burden refers to the attitudes and emotional reaction of the caregiver faced with the development of the care, such as for example, a low emotional mood, anxiety, or depression.…”

Caregiver strain in spouses of stroke patients

“…has been expressed by spouses of stroke patients (Denman, 1998 Caregiver reactions to offers of respite care may depend to some extent on the nature of the relationship between the informal carer and the dependent person (Clarke and Watson, 1991). However, resphe services may enable continumg employment for the caregiver or simply aUow the caregiver to have a break from their caregiving responsibiUties, Some studies have highlighted the psychological benefits of respite care for famUy caregivers (Zarit et al, 1998) yet others have suggested that resphe care has Uttle impact on caregiver mental health and has not been found to delay nursing home placement (Lawton et al, 1991;Montgomety and Borgatta, 1989). Moreover, a systematic review of respite intervention studies revealed 29 studies from which there was Uttle evidence that resphe intervention has either a consistent or enduring beneficial effect on carers' weU-being (McNaUy et al, 1999).…”