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Caregiving stress among community caregivers for the elderly: does institutionalization make a difference?
Journal of Community Health Nursing
|January 1, 1991
Summary
Caregiver stress persists even after placing elderly individuals in nursing homes. Community health nurses should offer continuous support and counseling to caregivers and their families throughout the transition and post-placement phases.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Nursing
- Psychology
Background:
- Informal caregivers for elderly persons experience significant stress.
- Limited research exists on caregiver well-being after full-time caregiving ends.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe the emotional and physical stress experienced by informal caregivers.
- To compare stress levels between caregivers who placed their charge in a nursing home and those who did not.
Main Methods:
- Convenience sample of 124 caregivers.
- Utilized the Burden Interview (J. Zarit & S. Zarit, 1983) to assess stress.
- Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) compared placed and non-placed groups.
Main Results:
- No significant differences in total stress scores or Role and Personal Strain subscales were found between placed and non-placed caregiver groups.
- Caregiving stress, encompassing emotional and physical components, was examined.
Conclusions:
- Ongoing counseling and support are crucial for caregivers and their charges, both before and after placement.
- Community health nurses play a vital role in preparing families for placement and providing post-placement follow-up.
- Enhanced collaboration between community-based and institutionally based nurses can improve care strategies.