Marc B Schure1, R Turner Goins2. 1. Health Services Research and Development, VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, WA. Electronic address: Mark.Schure@va.gov. 2. Department of Social Work, College of Health and Human Sciences, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC, and Center for Healthy Aging, Mountain Area Health Education Center, Asheville, NC.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Our study objectives were to identify the primary sources of informal caregiving and to examine the association of depressive symptomatology with receipt of informal caregiving among a sample of community-dwelling older American Indians. DESIGN: We conducted a cross-sectional study of older American Indians. PARTICIPANTS: Community-dwelling adults aged 55 years and older who are members of a federally recognized American Indian tribe in the Southeast United States. MEASUREMENTS: We collected information on the participant's primary caregiver, number of informal care hours received in the past week, depressive symptomatology, demographic characteristics, physical health status, and assistance need. RESULTS: Daughters, spouses, and sons were the most common informal primary caregivers with distinct differences by sex of those receiving care. Compared with participants with lower levels, those with a high level of depressive symptomatology received substantially greater hours of informal care (33.4 versus 11.5 hours per week). CONCLUSION: Older American Indians with higher levels of depressive symptomatology received more informal caregiving than those with lower depressive symptomatology. The burden of caregiving of older adults is primarily shouldered by spouses and children with those who care for older adults with depressive symptomatology likely experiencing an even greater burden of care. Published by Elsevier Inc.
OBJECTIVE: Our study objectives were to identify the primary sources of informal caregiving and to examine the association of depressive symptomatology with receipt of informal caregiving among a sample of community-dwelling older American Indians. DESIGN: We conducted a cross-sectional study of older American Indians. PARTICIPANTS: Community-dwelling adults aged 55 years and older who are members of a federally recognized American Indian tribe in the Southeast United States. MEASUREMENTS: We collected information on the participant's primary caregiver, number of informal care hours received in the past week, depressive symptomatology, demographic characteristics, physical health status, and assistance need. RESULTS: Daughters, spouses, and sons were the most common informal primary caregivers with distinct differences by sex of those receiving care. Compared with participants with lower levels, those with a high level of depressive symptomatology received substantially greater hours of informal care (33.4 versus 11.5 hours per week). CONCLUSION: Older American Indians with higher levels of depressive symptomatology received more informal caregiving than those with lower depressive symptomatology. The burden of caregiving of older adults is primarily shouldered by spouses and children with those who care for older adults with depressive symptomatology likely experiencing an even greater burden of care. Published by Elsevier Inc.
Entities:
Keywords:
American Indians; depressive symptomatology; informal caregiving
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