The impact of new demands for assistance on caregiver depression: tests using an inception cohort

Family caregivers of patients facing high numbers of new demands for assistance following hospital discharge were more likely to experience increased levels of depression in the following six months compared with caregivers facing similar overall demands but few new demands for assistance following hospital discharge. New demands for assistance had a significant independent effect upon the levels of depression and were independent of family relationship (spouse vs nonspouse) and caregiver gender. These findings provide insight into theories of caregiver stress, begin to specify the interaction of time following the onset of a stressful event and caregivers' subsequent reactions, and suggest which caregivers may require some assistance following discharge of their patients.