Caregiving Patterns and Their Association with Caregiving Burden and Gains

Family and friend caregivers play a critical role in helping older adults live long and healthy lives. Using the construct of "care types" we examine whether caregivers providing more intense care experience higher burden and lower gain compared to caregivers providing less intense care. Data are from the 2015 and 2017 rounds of the National Study of Caregiving (N=2,146), a study of the caregivers of older adults enrolled in the National Health and Aging Trends Study. In a previous analysis, we derived five care types at baseline (2015), that varied in the number and type of care activities, care duration, and regularity of care provided. Caregivers reported whether caregiving was financially, emotionally, and physically difficult for them. Participants were also asked whether caregiving made them more confident, taught them to deal with difficult situations, brought them closer to the recipient, and gave them satisfaction that the recipient was well cared for. We estimated the association between care types derived at baseline and caregiver burden and gains at follow-up using logistic regression. Compared to caregivers in the least intense care type, those in the more intense care types were significantly more likely to report financial and physical burden, as well as increased ability to deal with difficult situations and increased satisfaction that their loved one was well cared for. These associations remained significant after adjusting for confounders. Care types can be used to predict burdens and gains experienced by caregivers and to effectively target caregiver support services and interventions.