M Beatriz Fernández1, M Soledad Herrera1. 1. Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, Instituto de Sociología, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Care required by dependent older people is mostly provided by close family members. Caregiving is a demanding task, negatively affecting the physical and mental health of the caregiver. AIM: To describe the sociodemographic characteristics of informal caregivers of dependent elderly people in Chile and to evaluate the effect of providing care on the health of caregivers. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Data from the Economic Characterization Survey (CASEN) done in 2015 was used. Using as index cases older people who were receiving care from a family member, 4,313 informal caregivers were identified, whose characteristics were analyzed. Descriptive statistics and matching through propensity score were estimated, based on a logistic model, which included covariates such as sex, age, marital status, education, occupation, and income. Finally, the effect of being an informal caregiver versus not being a caregiver on the perception of health was calculated. RESULTS: Forty four percent of the caregivers were offspring and 33.6% couples. Sixty seven percent were women, with a mean age of 56.5 years. Half of them had a partner, 43% had basic education or less, and 61% were inactive. Being a caregiver had a significant effect of health perception. CONCLUSIONS: People belonging to certain more vulnerable groups are more likely to assume caregiving. Providing care to a dependent older person has a negative effect on health perception.
BACKGROUND: Care required by dependent older people is mostly provided by close family members. Caregiving is a demanding task, negatively affecting the physical and mental health of the caregiver. AIM: To describe the sociodemographic characteristics of informal caregivers of dependent elderly people in Chile and to evaluate the effect of providing care on the health of caregivers. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Data from the Economic Characterization Survey (CASEN) done in 2015 was used. Using as index cases older people who were receiving care from a family member, 4,313 informal caregivers were identified, whose characteristics were analyzed. Descriptive statistics and matching through propensity score were estimated, based on a logistic model, which included covariates such as sex, age, marital status, education, occupation, and income. Finally, the effect of being an informal caregiver versus not being a caregiver on the perception of health was calculated. RESULTS: Forty four percent of the caregivers were offspring and 33.6% couples. Sixty seven percent were women, with a mean age of 56.5 years. Half of them had a partner, 43% had basic education or less, and 61% were inactive. Being a caregiver had a significant effect of health perception. CONCLUSIONS:People belonging to certain more vulnerable groups are more likely to assume caregiving. Providing care to a dependent older person has a negative effect on health perception.