Caregiver burden, psychological well-being, and support needs among Swedish informal caregivers

The proportion of elderly people in the world is increasing, which increases the burden on the healthcare system and requires more formal and informal care. In Europe, informal care accounts for approximately 3.5% of GDP, and this is expected to increase. In Sweden, about 1.3 million people are informal caregivers (900,000 of whom are employed). Informal care is most common among people aged 45-65 years. Informal caregivers suffer from mental and physical health problems, such as depression, anxiety, and cardiovascular issues. The aim of this study was to describe informal caregivers in Sweden, their caregiver burden, psychological well-being, and their support needs. A web survey was used to collect data, and 379 informal caregivers responded to the survey. The results of this study showed that the majority of informal caregivers are women with good economic status and university education. Most care for one person, usually a spouse or a child, and balance work with caregiving tasks. Informal caregivers who provided care, help, and support to one person experienced greater burdens and higher levels of stress and depression. The impact on burden and psychological well-being becomes more pronounced when the informal caregiver has a close relationship or lives in the same household as the care recipient. These findings, and the fact that 82% of the participants use digital tools daily and are open to receiving support digitally, underscore the urgent need for digital interventions to reduce the caregiver burden and improve the psychological well-being of informal caregivers.