Trajectories of informal care and health

Abstract

The evidence of the impact of informal care provision on the health of carers presents a complex and contested picture, depending on the characteristics of the care studied, including its duration, which has been relatively short in previous research (up to 4 years). Drawing on data from the Office for National Statistics Longitudinal Study, a 1% sample of linked Census records for respondents in England and Wales (N=270,054), this paper contributes original insights on the impact of care provision on the carer's health ten years later. The paper explores differentials in self-reported health in 2011 between individuals according to their caring status at 2001 and 2011, and controlling for a range of demographic and socio-economic characteristics. The results show that individuals providing informal care in 2011 (regardless of carer status in 2001) exhibit lower odds of poor health in 2011 than those who did not provide care in both 2001 and 2011. Taking the intensity of care into account, ‘heavy’ carers in 2001 (i.e. caring for more than 20 h per week) who were not caring in 2011 show a higher likelihood of reporting poor health than non-carers, while those who were ‘heavy’ carers in both 2001 and 2011 are around one-third less likely to report poor health at 2011 compared to non-carers (2001 and 2011). These findings provide new insights in relation to repeat caring and its association with the carer's health status, further contributing to our understanding of the complex relationship between informal care provision and the carer's health.

Elder abuse as a risk factor for psychological distress among older adults in India: a cross-sectional study

“…However, such relations can have both positive and negative impacts on the mental well-being of both the older person and, in certain cases, that of the adult child carer. [55][56] Elder abuse needs to be recognised as a key public health issue and appropriate strategies, policies and practices put in place. Reducing elder abuse will have a positive impact on both the physical and mental health outcomes in later life.…”

Care and caring: interdisciplinary perspectives on a societal issue of global significance

“…It includes detailed analyses, demographic profiles and statistical presentations of carers and people needing care (e.g. Schofield et al, 1998;Young et al, 2006;Bittman et al, 2007;Yeandle and Buckner, 2007;Keeling and Davey, 2008;Fujisawa and Colombo, 2009;ABS, 2009;OECD, 2011;Carers UK, 2014;Vlachantoni et al, 2016) and evaluations and other assessments of policy and practice efforts to respond to the strains, needs and injustices some carers experience (Glendinning, 1983;Arksey, 2003;Victor, 2009;Yeandle and Wigfield, 2011;Moran et al, 2012); it often identifies the support needs of discrete groups (Glendinning et al, 2010;Hill et al, 2016). Some of this research focuses on care provided within a job or professional role (Dill and Cagle, 2010); on differences and inequalities (Abel and Nelson, 1990) and on the organisation, delivery and planning of publicly funded care (Naylor et al, 2011(Naylor et al, , 2015.…”

Caring for Carers: Positive and Normative Challenges for Future Research on Carer Spillover Effects in Economic Evaluation

“…A further challenge is accounting for changes in caring status. For example, a carer may change their place of residence, decide to stop caring, require care themselves, or die 56 . If a prospective evaluation of an intervention determined it to be cost-effective when accounting for spillover effects, should the conclusion of this evaluation change in light of changes in carer status?…”