The Effects of Nursing Home Placement on the Perceived Levels of Caregiver Burden

Abstract

Providing care for an aging parent can be one of the most fulfilling life experiences for an adult child. It can also be one of the most exhausting physically, emotionally, and financially. A caregiver experiences psychological and emotional changes when their dependent parent or spouse is placed into formal care. This research project uses the Montgomery Borgatta Caregiver Burden Scale, amended with a questionnaire, in a self-administered, anonymous survey to explore perceptions of caregiving burden before and after the nursing home placement periods. This research showed that numerous factors influence caregivers' perceptions of burden and the quality of relationships among family members.

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Family Caregivers: A Randomized Controlled Trial

“…Subjective stress burden measures the emotional impact of caregiving responsibilities. Recent studies show reasonable reliability and validity for the subscales (Stone & Clements, 2009).…”

Cross-Survey Differences in National Estimates of Numbers of Caregivers of Disabled Older Adults

“…The distinction between community and facility, however, may be difficult to differentiate in long‐term care settings such as senior housing, assisted living, and continuing‐care communities (Harrington et al 2005; Kane 1995). Furthermore, caregivers may continue to provide instrumental and emotional support after the care recipient has moved into a facility (Stone and Clements 2009). Another sampling frame consideration is the age of the care recipient who qualifies as an “older” adult.…”

Caregiving for Parents and In-Laws: Commonalities and Differences

“…With adult children of a frail parent becoming more geographically distant from one another, an adult child caregiver living closest to a frail or sick parent is often chosen among siblings to care for a parent. Due to this new role and responsibility, adult children caregivers may experience a greater strain (Stone & Clements, 2009) and require more assistance from their spouse.…”