PubMed · 15253474
The source did not provide an abstract. Follow the original record for more information.
Explore connections, maps & timelines
Jerome W Freeman. 2004. In another time.. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15253474/
Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.
KEEP EXPLORING
BackgroundDementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is a common degenerative dementia, but no studies investigate bereaved caregiver experiences.ObjectiveTo investigate the experiences of caregivers three months after the death of persons with DLB using a mixed-methods approach.MethodsDyads of individuals with moderate-advanced DLB and their primary informal caregivers were followed prospectively every 6 months until the person with DLB died. Caregivers completed a study visit with questionnaires and a semi-structured interview ∼3 months later. Spearman correlation coefficients and Wilcoxon rank-sum tests evaluated the relationships of post-death measures with pre-death patient and caregiver variables. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the interviews.ResultsSeventy-three caregivers completed visits (mean 3.5 months post-death). Most of the caregivers were women (82.2%) and spouses (76.7%) or adult children (17.8%). Over 40% had scores indicating risk for clinical depression. Post-death caregiver experiences (depression, quality of life, grief, resilience) correlated with pre-death caregiver experiences. Post-death experiences did not associate with patient characteristics, disease-related symptoms, or healthcare services used in the last 6 months of life. Trajectories for caregiver measures from pre- to post-death visits varied widely. Interview themes included grief and sadness, anger, guilt and regret, relief, appreciation/gratitude, and adjusting to a new normal.ConclusionsThe finding that pre-death caregiving experiences have the strongest association with post-death experiences emphasizes the critical importance of accessible and evidence-based caregiver support before and after the death of a person with DLB. Research is needed to develop interventions for current and bereaved caregivers of individuals with DLB.Trial registration informationNCT04829656 (submitted 2021-03-22).
PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To discuss the impact of cancer on families of patients with cancer. DATA SOURCES: National reports on caregiving and research articles related to cancer and families. DATA SYNTHESIS: Family caregivers are the bedrock of chronic care in the United States. They provide an enormous amount of unpaid care that is often invisible. Cancer can affect the emotional, social, physical, and spiritual well-being of family members. CONCLUSIONS: Family intervention research can have a positive effect on patient and family caregiver outcomes. More intervention research with families is needed that is theoretically based, uses randomized clinical trial designs, and uses instruments that are sensitive to intervention effects. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: Although family intervention research is limited, descriptive and exploratory research has identified protective factors and risk factors that need to be addressed in clinical practice.
Informal care should be a substitute for nursing homes but empirical evidence often suggests the opposite. This may be because informal care receipt is positively correlated with unobserved negative health characteristics. We exploit variation in children's characteristics as instruments for informal care to provide Two-Stage Least Squares (TSLS) estimates of nursing home use among a sample of 6855 individuals from the 1993-2000 waves of the AHEAD survey. While OLS results suggest informal care is associated with greater future nursing home risk, TSLS estimates show that receipt of informal care statistically and substantially reduces the risk of nursing home entry. This finding has implications for Medicaid and private long-term care insurance markets.