Premium
A day in the life of caregivers to older adults with and without dementia: Comparisons of care time and emotional health
Author(s) -
Freedman Vicki A.,
Patterson Sarah E.,
Cornman Jennifer C.,
Wolff Jennifer L.
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.713
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1552-5279
pISSN - 1552-5260
DOI - 10.1002/alz.12550
Subject(s) - dementia , context (archaeology) , psychological intervention , medicine , gerontology , health care , emotional health , family caregivers , clinical psychology , psychology , psychiatry , mental health , disease , paleontology , pathology , economics , biology , economic growth
How care‐related time and emotional health over the day differ for those assisting older adults with and without dementia is unclear. Methods Using 2134 time diaries from the National Study of Caregiving, we compared emotional health and care time for caregivers of older adults with and without dementia. Results Caregivers to older adults with dementia experienced worse (higher scores) on a composite measure of negative emotional health (4.2 vs 3.3; P < .05) and provided more physical/medical care (33.7 vs 16.2 minutes; P < .05) and less transportation assistance (12.6 vs 24.8 minutes; P < .05) than other caregivers. In models, providing physical/medical care was associated with worse emotional health (β = 0.15; P < .01) and socializing with the care recipient was associated with worse emotional health when the recipient had dementia (β = 0.28; P < .01). Discussion Findings highlight the opportunity for targeted interventions to address the emotional consequences of different types of care time in the context of dementia.