Financial strain among unpaid family caregivers of frail elders in community

This research indicates that gender differences in the performance of specific caregiving tasks and the amount of time spent providing care by family caregivers of frail elders should be considered in the context of family position-related norms and expectations. Using a nationally representative sample of noninstitutionalized impaired elderly people in the United States ( N = 813), the results show that husbands (when compared to wives) and daughters (when compared to sons) report spending more time and performing a greater number of caregiving tasks. The authors suggest that family position may confound interpretations regarding the association between gender and family caregiving.

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Financial Strain, Employment, and Role Captivity and Overload Over Time Among Dementia Family Caregivers

The Gerontologist ◽

10.1093/geront/gnz099 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Yin Liu ◽

Malinda Dokos ◽

Elizabeth B Fauth ◽

Yoon G Lee ◽

Steven H Zarit

Keyword(s):

Family Caregivers ◽

Employment Status ◽

Financial Strain ◽

Role Overload ◽

Status Change ◽

Role Changes ◽

Self Reports ◽

Design And Methods ◽

Over Time

AbstractBackground and ObjectivesThis study examined how financial strain and changes in employment status affect subjective stressors over 12 months in 184 family caregivers of individuals with dementia.Research Design and MethodsSubjective stressors of role overload and role captivity, and employment status were measured at baseline, 6-, and 12-months. Self-reports on financial strain were measured at baseline only. Caregivers were categorized into 3 groups based on changes in their employment status during the study over 12 months: (a) who were never employed, (b) who experienced some sort of employment status change, either going from employment to unemployment or vice versa, and (c) who were always employed. Growth curve analyses were conducted to examine within-person changes in role overload and role captivity, and associations with employment and financial strain.ResultsCaregivers with greater financial strain at baseline had higher levels of role overload and increasing role captivity over time. Caregivers who experienced a caregiving transition and had low financial strain at baseline showed greater decrease in role captivity over 12 months. Although caregivers who were consistently unemployed reported lower levels of role overload, they also showed steeper increase over time than those who were consistently employed.Discussion and ImplicationsCaregivers’ perceptions of financial strain add to the long-term stress of the caregiving role. Changes in caregivers’ employment status may have complex associations with their feelings of stress over time.

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Family Medical Leave as a Resilience Resource for Family Caregivers

Care Management Journals ◽

10.1891/1521-0987.10.1.8 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 8-13 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Jayme Swanke ◽

Laura Dreuth Zeman

Keyword(s):

Family Caregivers ◽

Best Practice ◽

Family Care ◽

Case Managers ◽

Financial Strain ◽

Family Networks ◽

Medical Leave ◽

Family Medical Leave Act ◽

Practice Models ◽

Family Medical Leave

Case managers mobilize family networks to care for patients. Family medical leave can be a resource for case managers who seek to enhance resilience among family caregivers. The Family Medical Leave Act, passed in 1993, was the first U.S. policy to regulate employee leaves from work for family care purposes (29 CFR 825.102). This policy offers family caregivers increased flexibility and equality. Current and emerging policies also can reduce financial strain. The discussion examines how case managers can integrate family medical leave into best-practice models to support patients and family caregivers.

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GENERAL AND GENDER-SPECIFIC DYNAMICS DETERMINING THE HEALTH STATUS OF WORKING INFORMAL CAREGIVERS

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igz038.2699 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. S736-S736

Author(s):

Abby Schwartz ◽

Leanne J Clark-Shirley ◽

G Rainville

Keyword(s):

Health Status ◽

Family Caregivers ◽

Good Health ◽

Financial Strain ◽

Men And Women ◽

Caregiver Health ◽

Employment Conditions ◽

Using Data ◽

Emotional Strain ◽

The Relationship

Abstract As the gender divide among family caregivers closes, it is important to understand whether and how men and women differently experience caregiving. For example, literature suggests that employed family caregivers experience burden and health outcomes differently than unemployed caregivers, but less is known about how these factors affect men and women differently. Using data from Caregiving in the U.S., 2015 (source: AARP and NAC), this study reliably modelled the effect of multiple threats to good health within the caregiving role (e.g. physical, financial, and emotional strain). In the analysis, several moderated relationships were observed using data from 816 working caregivers. In the full sample, the relationship between objective caregiving burden (hours of care and counts of ADLs/IADLs) and self-reported health status was altered by financial strain. In the high burden condition, relatively poor health was progressively related to increasing levels of financial strain controlling for traditional covariates. In separate analyses for males and females, this moderated relationship was discovered to be limited to female caregivers. Physical and emotional strain did not moderate the relationship between burden and health. Several covariates related to employment conditions (e.g., caregiver-friendly workplace policies) behaved differently across models and are presented and discussed in relation to financial strain as a determinant of caregiver health. These findings shed light on gender-based differences in caregiver outcomes, and suggest that interventions aimed at assessing and improving caregiver health should account for the financial strain experienced particularly by women.

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Caregiver Eligibility for Support Services: Correlates and Consequences for Resource Utilization

Journal of Applied Gerontology ◽

10.1177/0733464820971134 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 073346482097113

Author(s):

Kristin Litzelman ◽

Autumn Harnish

Keyword(s):

Family Caregivers ◽

Support Services ◽

Population Level ◽

The United States ◽

Care Recipient ◽

Financial Strain ◽

Eligibility Criteria ◽

The Us ◽

Using Data ◽

Priority Populations

Policymakers and community organizations have implemented numerous programs and services to support the more than 40 million family caregivers in the United States. However, the existence of such services is not sufficient to ensure equitable and optimal access and utilization. Using data from the Caregiving in the US study (2015; n = 1,185), we estimated that nearly one in five family caregivers do not meet broad eligibility criteria for support services. This resource gap was particularly likely to affect high-priority populations such as those caring for someone with a mental health problem. Furthermore, ineligible caregivers had lower service utilization and increased financial strain. The findings highlight a pattern of vulnerability among caregivers who do not meet broad eligibility criteria for financial support resources. Careful policy consideration is needed to determine how support services should be allocated to maximize caregiver and care recipient outcomes at the population level.

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