Wajnberg Ania, Soones Tacara N, Smith Kristofer L, Russell David, Ross Joseph S, Federman Alex
Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
North-Shore-LIJ Hofstra School of Medicine, Hempstead, NY, USA.
Gerontol Geriatr Med. 2016 Sep 8;2:2333721416667878. doi: 10.1177/2333721416667878. eCollection 2016 Jan-Dec.
Limited research has explored whether the burden associated with caring for homebound patients varies across racial groups or by relationship status. We examined these variations for this vulnerable population. Patients self-identified informal caregivers and caregiver burden/depression were assessed using the Zarit Caregiver Burden Scale and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression scale (CES-D). Forty-nine informal caregivers completed the interview. Mean age was 58 ( = 14), 78% were female, 37% Black, 35% Hispanic, and 46% had completed high school. Over 60% of caregivers had moderate or severe caregiver burden and 30% had significant depression. White caregivers had greater burden than Black and Hispanic caregivers ( = .02). Mean caregiver burden was higher among spouse/partner caregivers, versus those who identified as children or other family or friends ( = .004). Additional research is needed to better understand the experience of racial and ethnic minorities and spouses in providing informal care to homebound adults.
有限的研究探讨了照顾居家患者的负担是否因种族群体或关系状况而异。我们针对这一弱势群体研究了这些差异。患者自行确定非正式护理人员，并使用扎里特护理负担量表和流行病学研究中心抑郁量表（CES-D）评估护理人员的负担/抑郁情况。49名非正式护理人员完成了访谈。平均年龄为58岁（标准差=14），78%为女性，37%为黑人，35%为西班牙裔，46%完成了高中学业。超过60%的护理人员有中度或重度护理负担，30%有明显抑郁。白人护理人员的负担比黑人和西班牙裔护理人员更重（P=0.02）。配偶/伴侣护理人员的平均护理负担高于那些自称是子女或其他家人或朋友的护理人员（P=0.004）。需要进一步研究，以更好地了解少数种族和族裔以及配偶在为居家成年人提供非正式护理方面的经历。
