Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI; Program for Positive Aging, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2017 Oct;25(10):1085-1093. doi: 10.1016/j.jagp.2017.05.001. Epub 2017 May 4.
Spouses of older adults with functional disability often provide help with their partner's medical care. Yet little is known about the implications of these activities for spouses' caregiving experiences. We examined how spouses' medical care activities are linked to both positive and negative aspects of caregiving (difficulties and gains), and whether these associations vary by their age, gender, or education.
Retrospective analysis of data from the 2011 National Health and Aging Trends Study and National Study of Caregiving cross-sectional studies.
Caregivers and care recipients/proxies were interviewed by telephone at home.
Nationally representative U.S. sample of 345 spousal caregivers and their community-dwelling care recipients aged 65 years and older.
Caregivers' self-reported sociodemographics, care activities, health conditions, well-being, and support resources. Care recipients (or proxies) reported on their health conditions and dementia status.
A higher number of health system interaction tasks (e.g., making appointments) were significantly associated with greater emotional caregiving difficulties, whereas a higher number of medical/nursing tasks (e.g., giving shots/injections) were significantly linked to greater caregiving gains. A higher number of medical/nursing tasks were also significantly associated with greater physical difficulties for caregiving wives and spouses with less education.
Medical care activities may have both positive and negative consequences for spousal caregivers, which depend partly on sociodemographics. This study underscores the importance of ensuring that spouses have the resources and support needed to provide complex care to their partners.
功能障碍老年人的配偶经常为伴侣的医疗提供帮助。然而，人们对这些活动对配偶的照顾体验的影响知之甚少。我们研究了配偶的医疗活动如何与照顾的积极和消极方面（困难和收获）相关联，以及这些关联是否因年龄、性别或教育程度而有所不同。
对 2011 年国家健康老龄化趋势研究和国家照顾者研究的横断面研究数据进行回顾性分析。
照顾者和照顾对象/代理人在家中通过电话接受访谈。
来自全美代表性的 345 名配偶照顾者及其 65 岁及以上的社区居住照顾对象的样本。
照顾者自我报告的社会人口统计学、照顾活动、健康状况、幸福感和支持资源。照顾对象（或代理人）报告了他们的健康状况和痴呆症状况。
更多的医疗系统交互任务（如预约）与更大的情感照顾困难显著相关，而更多的医疗/护理任务（如注射）与更大的照顾收获显著相关。更多的医疗/护理任务也与教育程度较低的照顾妻子和配偶的更多身体困难显著相关。
医疗护理活动可能对配偶照顾者既有积极影响，也有消极影响，这在一定程度上取决于社会人口统计学因素。本研究强调了确保配偶拥有为伴侣提供复杂护理所需的资源和支持的重要性。
