Predictors of family caregivers' physical and psychological health following hospitalization of their elders.

OBJECTIVE

To identify characteristics present at the time of elders' (> or = 75 years of age) hospitalization that predicted care-givers' self-reported physical and psychological health 1 year later.

DESIGN

A prospective observational cohort study of 104 family caregivers followed for 1 year from the time of their elders' hospitalization.

SETTING

Urban community hospital with academic affiliation.

SUBJECTS

Caregivers of patients enrolled in an evaluation of inpatient interdisciplinary geriatric assessment who provided care for the entire year of follow-up and who participated in all interviews.

MAIN OUTCOMES

Self-reported physical and psychological health.

RESULTS

Caregivers' baseline self-reported physical health (AOR = 21.8; 95% CI = 4.65-102), the impact of caregiving on their social and leisure time activities (AOR = 9.93; 95% CI = 1.71-57.8), and their relationship to their elders (AOR = 6.50; 95% CI = 1.20-35.2) were all significantly associated with self-reported physical health at follow-up. Caregivers' baseline self-reported health (AOR = 3.70; 95% CI = 1.11-12.5), whether or not they had additional current caregiving responsibilities (AOR = 6.67; 95% CI = 1.89-25.0), and the interaction of perceptions of caregiving and the adequacy of family help were significant predictors of psychological health at follow-up, adjusted for baseline psychological health.

CONCLUSION

Information available at the time of elderly patients' admission to the hospital can help to differentiate those caregivers at risk for future physical and psychological distress from those who are likely to continue doing well.