Sydney Nursing School, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW 2050, Australia.
BMC Geriatr. 2012 Oct 25;12:66. doi: 10.1186/1471-2318-12-66.
The demands and consequences of caregiving are considerable. However, such outcomes are not commonly investigated in the evaluation of interventions targeting frailty. This study aims to explore family carers' reactions to caregiving during an intervention targeting frailty in community living older people.
A study of carers (n=119) embedded in a 12 month randomised controlled intervention targeting frailty in people 70 years or older, compared to usual care. Reactions to caregiving were measured in the domains of health, finance, self-esteem, family support and daily schedule. Anxiety and depression levels were also evaluated. Carer outcomes were measured at baseline, 6 months and 12 months and at 3 months post frailty intervention.
Carers of frail older people in the intervention group showed a sustained improvement in health scores during the intervention targeting frailty, while health scores for carers of the frail older people in the control group, decreased and therefore their health worsened (F=2.956, p=0.034). The carers of the frail older people in the intervention group reported overall better health (F=5.303, p=0.023) and self-esteem (F=4.158, p=0.044), and co-resident carers reported higher self-esteem (F=4.088, p=0.046). Anxiety levels increased for carers in both intervention and control groups (F=2.819, p=0.04).
The inclusion of carers in trials targeting frail older people may assist in the identification of at-risk carers and facilitate the provision of information and support that will assist them to continue providing care. Further research that explores the features of frailty interventions that impact on the caregiving experience is recommended.
Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry: ACTRN12608000565347.
照顾者的需求和后果是相当大的。然而，在针对虚弱的干预措施的评估中，通常不会调查这些结果。本研究旨在探讨家庭照顾者在针对社区居住的老年人虚弱的干预措施中对照顾的反应。
一项针对 119 名照顾者的研究，该研究嵌入在一项针对 70 岁或以上人群虚弱的为期 12 个月的随机对照干预研究中，与常规护理进行比较。在健康、财务、自尊、家庭支持和日常生活安排等领域测量了照顾者的反应。还评估了焦虑和抑郁水平。在基线、6 个月和 12 个月以及虚弱干预后 3 个月测量照顾者的结果。
在针对虚弱的干预组中，虚弱老年人的照顾者在干预过程中健康评分持续改善，而对照组中虚弱老年人的照顾者健康评分下降，因此他们的健康状况恶化（F=2.956，p=0.034）。干预组中虚弱老年人的照顾者报告整体健康状况更好（F=5.303，p=0.023）和自尊更高（F=4.158，p=0.044），而共同居住的照顾者自尊更高（F=4.088，p=0.046）。干预组和对照组的照顾者焦虑水平都有所增加（F=2.819，p=0.04）。
在针对虚弱老年人的试验中纳入照顾者可能有助于识别有风险的照顾者，并为他们提供信息和支持，以帮助他们继续提供照顾。建议进一步研究探索影响照顾体验的虚弱干预措施的特征。
澳大利亚新西兰临床试验注册中心：ACTRN12608000565347。
