Delgado Roxana E, Peacock Kimberly, Elizondo Barbara, Wells Margaret, Grafman Jordan H, Pugh Mary J
Department of Medicine, General and Hospital Medicine Division, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78229.
Military Health Institute, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78229.
Mil Med. 2018 Mar 1;183(suppl_1):379-385. doi: 10.1093/milmed/usx156.
Approximately 1.1 million family members are primary caregivers to post 9/11 veterans. These military caregivers assume a role that requires a long-term commitment that may affect their own health status; however, the impact on health among military caregivers is underestimated and underrepresented. As part of a larger retrospective cohort study that aimed to assess the health-related outcomes of post 9/11 veterans with penetrating traumatic brain injury (pTBI), we examined the health impact of caregiving on caregivers. Caregivers (n = 66) of veterans with pTBI completed a survey that captured the veterans' and their own health-related outcomes. Surveys included veteran and caregiver sociodemographics, caregiver role, tasks, burden, and caregiver-reported measures of veterans' health and quality of life. The participants were spouses (58%) and parents (32%) providing full-time assistance for more than 5 yr (74%). In their caregiver role, they provided assistance with activities of daily living and emotional/social support. Forty-eight percent of these caregivers met the definition of experiencing clinically significant burden. Veterans with pTBI had other comorbidities (e.g., depression, cognitive dysfunction, and anger), which were associated with caregiver burden. The findings further confirm the impact of caregiving on health status of caregivers, specifically when assisting veterans with pTBI.
约110万家庭成员是9·11事件后退伍军人的主要照料者。这些军事照料者承担的角色需要长期投入，这可能会影响他们自身的健康状况；然而，军事照料者对健康的影响被低估且未得到充分体现。作为一项旨在评估9·11事件后穿透性创伤性脑损伤（pTBI）退伍军人健康相关结局的大型回顾性队列研究的一部分，我们研究了照料对照料者健康的影响。pTBI退伍军人的照料者（n = 66）完成了一项调查，该调查收集了退伍军人及其自身的健康相关结局。调查内容包括退伍军人和照料者的社会人口统计学信息、照料者角色、任务、负担，以及照料者报告的退伍军人健康和生活质量指标。参与者中配偶占58%，父母占32%，他们提供全职照料超过5年（占74%）。在照料者角色中，他们提供日常生活活动协助以及情感/社会支持。这些照料者中有48%符合经历临床显著负担的定义。患有pTBI的退伍军人还有其他合并症（如抑郁症、认知功能障碍和愤怒），这些与照料者负担相关。研究结果进一步证实了照料对照料者健康状况的影响，特别是在协助患有pTBI的退伍军人时。
