Work Impact and Emotional Stress Among Informal Caregivers for Older Adults

Longacre, Margaret L.; Valdmanis, Vivian; Handorf, Elizabeth A.; Fang, Carolyn Y.

doi:10.1093/geronb/gbw027

Cited by 73 publications

(84 citation statements)

References 32 publications

(49 reference statements)

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“…Among working‐age family caregivers accessing the Older Americans Act's National Family Caregiver Support Program, nearly 40% of nonworking family caregivers reported quitting their jobs or retiring early from work because of intensive caregiving demands. The majority of nonworking caregivers were women who provided help with three or more activities of daily living (such as bathing or feeding) for a spouse and who experienced high emotional stress …”

Section: Caregiving's Impact On Employment and Financial Well‐beingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The majority of nonworking caregivers were women who provided help with three or more activities of daily living (such as bathing or feeding) for a spouse and who experienced high emotional stress. 10 The economic consequences of reducing work hours, quitting a job to provide care, or taking an unplanned early retirement can be significant. Although available research on the economic effects of family caregiving is limited and largely based on self-reported data, studies show that family caregivers who disrupt their careers or leave the labor force entirely to meet full-time caregiving demands can face substantial economic risk and short-and long-term financial consequences.…”

Section: Caregiving's Impact On Employment and Financial Well-beingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Paid Family Leave: An Emerging Benefit for Employed Family Caregivers of Older Adults

Feinberg

2019

J American Geriatrics Society

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As our population ages, the ability to take time off to care for an ill family member or close friend without losing income or a job is a growing social, health, and economic issue for American families. Therefore, the need for paid family leave policies for workers with caregiving responsibilities is an important topic for employers and policymakers, in the clinical care of older adults, and at kitchen tables across the United States. Despite this growing need, paid family leave is not available to most workers, and there is no national paid family leave policy. Health care and social service providers have a role in ensuring that family members of their patients with a serious health condition or disability are aware of the potential availability of paid family leave benefits in the states and businesses that provide them. Building a better system of care for older adults means changes not only in health care settings and in long‐term services and supports, but in workplaces too. This article describes the challenges faced by workers with family caregiving responsibilities, explains why paid family leave matters, indicates which states have adopted these protections, and reviews research on existing paid family leave policies. Finally, actions by clinicians and other stakeholders are offered to advance awareness about paid family leave benefits, including coverage for workers with care responsibilities for older people.

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Section: Caregiving's Impact On Employment and Financial Well‐beingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Caregiving's Impact On Employment and Financial Well-beingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Paid Family Leave: An Emerging Benefit for Employed Family Caregivers of Older Adults

Feinberg

2019

J American Geriatrics Society

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“…The same association was not observed among caregivers who were not working. Further, Longacre et al (2016) also found that working caregivers experience greater emotional stress as the duration of care increases (both in terms of the hours of care provided and the total time spent in the caregiving role), suggesting that the burden of caregiving is cumulative over time for those with work demands.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Working caregivers may also experience concurrent or conflicting work and caregiving demands being made of scarce time and resources, resulting in role strain or conflict at the caregiving-work nexus (Given, Given, Sherwood, & DeVoss, 2013; Gordon, Pruchno, Wilson-Genderson, Murphy, & Rose, 2012). In general, working family caregivers seem more likely to have worse mental health compared to individuals who only work or provide care exclusively (Honda, Date, Abe, Aoyagi, & Honda, 2014; Lee, Walker, & Shoup, 2001; Longacre, Valdmanis, Handorf, & Fang, 2016), especially with regard to depressive symptoms. For example, those engaged both in work and caregiving roles exhibit more depressive symptoms than those involved in only one of those roles (Lee et al, 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Expressive social support buffers the impact of care-related work interruptions on caregivers’ depressive symptoms

Ang

Malhotra

2017

Aging & Mental Health

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Objective: To assess if expressive and instrumental social support from family and friends moderate the association of care-related work interruptions (e.g., leaving work for the older adult’s doctor appointment) with depressive symptoms among working family caregivers of older adults. Method: Data were from the Singapore Survey on Informal Caregiving (SSIC). A subsample of 662 dyads, each comprising an older care-recipient (home-dwelling Singaporean aged 75 and older receiving human assistance for at least one activity of daily living (ADL)) and his/her working family caregiver, was analysed. Caregiver depressive symptoms were assessed using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale. Care-related work interruptions were scaled through the Mokken scaling procedure. Expressive social support was assessed using a scale by Pearlin and colleagues. Instrumental social support was based on the hours of ADL help provided to the care recipient by any family member or friend, on behalf of the primary caregiver. A linear regression model, with interaction terms, assessed expressive and instrumental social support as moderators of the association of care-related work interruptions with caregiver depressive symptoms. Results: More care-related work interruptions were associated with more caregiver depressive symptoms. And, this association was moderated by expressive, but not instrumental, social support. Conclusion: Our findings conform to previous qualitative work suggesting that caregivers’ mental health may not benefit from instrumental support, but from receiving expressive support instead. Initiatives for improving the care experience of working caregivers of older adults should focus on promoting expressive support from their friends and family.

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“…Women, who traditionally have taken the role of caregivers, are currently combining this role with work and other responsibilities, which places them under high levels of stress. 23 In Chile, as in many other countries, social views on aging and older age are composed of stereotypes associated with biological decline, the loss of cognitive abilities, and the severe difficulties of older people to adapt to the pace of modern daily life. Currently, almost three out of four Chileans (72.9%) think that senior adults cannot manage by themselves.…”

Section: Aging and Social Conditionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aging and Health Policies in Chile: New Agendas for Research

Thumala

Kennedy

Calvo

et al. 2017

Health Systems & Reform

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Work Impact and Emotional Stress Among Informal Caregivers for Older Adults

Abstract: These findings suggest the need to further explore work among informal caregivers and associations with emotional stress, as well as consider work-based policy approaches, organizational and/or societal, to support informal caregivers.

Cited by 73 publications

References 32 publications

Paid Family Leave: An Emerging Benefit for Employed Family Caregivers of Older Adults

Paid Family Leave: An Emerging Benefit for Employed Family Caregivers of Older Adults

Expressive social support buffers the impact of care-related work interruptions on caregivers’ depressive symptoms

Aging and Health Policies in Chile: New Agendas for Research

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