Karla T Washington1, George Demiris2, Kenneth C Pike3, Robin L Kruse1, Debra Parker Oliver1. 1. Curtis W. & Ann H. Long Department of Family and Community Medicine,University of Missouri,Columbia,Missouri. 2. Department of Biobehavioral Nursing & Health Services,School of Nursing and Department of Biomedical & Health Informatics,School of Medicine,University of Washington,Seattle,Washington. 3. Department of Psychosocial Nursing & Community Health,School of Nursing,University of Washington,Seattle,Washington.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: This study examined the prevalence of clinically significant anxiety among informal hospice caregivers and identified the characteristics of caregivers who experienced anxiety of this severity. METHOD: An exploratory secondary data analysis pooled from three separate studies of informal hospice caregivers (N = 433) was conducted. Researchers employed descriptive statistics to calculate anxiety prevalence and utilized logistic regression to model the associations between the covariates (i.e., caregiver characteristics) and anxiety. RESULTS: Overall, 31% of informal hospice caregivers reported moderate or higher levels of anxiety. Caregivers associated with the research site in the Northwest were less likely to be anxious than those in the Southeast [χ2(3, N = 433) = 7.07, p = 0.029], and employed caregivers were less likely to be anxious than unemployed caregivers (OR = 0.56, 95% CI = 0.33, 0.96). The likelihood of being anxious decreased with increasing physical quality of life (OR = 0.77, 95% CI = 0.69, 0.85), and younger female caregivers were more likely to be anxious than male caregivers and older females (OR = 0.95, CI = 0.91, 0.99). SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS: A noteworthy number of informal hospice caregivers experience clinically significant levels of anxiety. Increased efforts to screen and address anxiety in this population are recommended.
OBJECTIVE: This study examined the prevalence of clinically significant anxiety among informal hospice caregivers and identified the characteristics of caregivers who experienced anxiety of this severity. METHOD: An exploratory secondary data analysis pooled from three separate studies of informal hospice caregivers (N = 433) was conducted. Researchers employed descriptive statistics to calculate anxiety prevalence and utilized logistic regression to model the associations between the covariates (i.e., caregiver characteristics) and anxiety. RESULTS: Overall, 31% of informal hospice caregivers reported moderate or higher levels of anxiety. Caregivers associated with the research site in the Northwest were less likely to be anxious than those in the Southeast [χ2(3, N = 433) = 7.07, p = 0.029], and employed caregivers were less likely to be anxious than unemployed caregivers (OR = 0.56, 95% CI = 0.33, 0.96). The likelihood of being anxious decreased with increasing physical quality of life (OR = 0.77, 95% CI = 0.69, 0.85), and younger female caregivers were more likely to be anxious than male caregivers and older females (OR = 0.95, CI = 0.91, 0.99). SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS: A noteworthy number of informal hospice caregivers experience clinically significant levels of anxiety. Increased efforts to screen and address anxiety in this population are recommended.
Entities:
Keywords:
Anxiety; Caregivers; Family; Hospice care
Authors: Elaine Wittenberg-Lyles; George Demiris; Debra Parker Oliver; Karla Washington; Stephanie Burt; Sara Shaunfield Journal: Qual Health Res Date: 2012-06-06
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Authors: Karla T Washington; Kenneth C Pike; George Demiris; Debra Parker Oliver; David L Albright; Alexandria M Lewis Journal: J Palliat Med Date: 2015-10-20 Impact factor: 2.947
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