Lavela Sherri L, Ather Nazneen
Center for Management of Complex Chronic Care, Department of Veterans Affairs, Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital, Hines, IL, USA.
Chronic Illn. 2010 Mar;6(1):67-80. doi: 10.1177/1742395309356943.
The need for informal caregiving has been rapidly increasing across several countries. Spouses comprise a sizeable segment of informal caregivers and typically represent an older cohort with special health concerns. The objective of this review was to examine psychological health outcomes in older adult spouses caring for older adults.
Literature review/synthesis (1999-2009).
Compared to demographically matched married non-caregiving controls, older adult spousal caregivers experienced more cognitive functioning difficulties, strain, distress, stress, loneliness, depression, anxiety and poorer mental health. Caregivers of spouses with cognitive impairments, quite often wives, were especially affected by poor psychological health, as were caregivers who were new to the caregiving role and those who rated caregiving as stressful. Psychological health improved when the caregiving role ceased.
Several poor psychological outcomes were found in older adults caring for their spouses; the magnitude of which varied and were more pronounced under certain circumstances. To preserve caregiver health, maintain recipient health and care quality and avoid exceeding system of care capacity, efforts are needed to provide support to older adult spousal caregivers and recipients. Couples may need to be assessed as a unit, taking gender and cultural considerations into account, and additional resources may be required.
在多个国家，对非正式照料的需求一直在迅速增长。配偶是非正式照料者中的相当一部分，通常代表着有特殊健康问题的老年人群体。本综述的目的是研究照顾老年人的老年配偶的心理健康状况。
文献综述/综合分析（1999 - 2009年）。
与人口统计学特征匹配的已婚非照料对照组相比，老年配偶照料者经历了更多的认知功能困难、压力、痛苦、焦虑、孤独、抑郁，心理健康状况更差。配偶有认知障碍的照料者，通常是妻子，尤其受到心理健康不佳的影响，新承担照料角色的照料者以及认为照料压力大的照料者也是如此。照料角色结束后，心理健康状况有所改善。
在照顾配偶的老年人中发现了几种不良的心理结果；其严重程度各不相同，在某些情况下更为明显。为了维护照料者的健康、保持受照料者的健康和照料质量，并避免超出护理系统的能力，需要努力为老年配偶照料者和受照料者提供支持。可能需要将夫妻作为一个整体进行评估，同时考虑性别和文化因素，并且可能需要额外的资源。
