Spousal Caregiving: Keeping Healthy Dr Ng Guat Tin Asst Professor, Department of Social Work...
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Transcript of Spousal Caregiving: Keeping Healthy Dr Ng Guat Tin Asst Professor, Department of Social Work...
Spousal Caregiving: Keeping HealthyDr Ng Guat TinAsst Professor, Department of Social WorkNational University of SingaporeEmail: [email protected]
5th International Conference on Social Work
in Health and Mental Health (10-14 December 2006)
Caregiver quote
1
“I told him (husband), ‘Why you make me so angry? You better not stress me.’ Sometimes a carer can die before the patient does (laughing)”
Spousal caregiver, 60 years old. Had breast cancer herself in year 2000 and recovered.
Literature on Caregiver Health
• Effects of caregiving stressor on caregivers’ psychosocial and physical health and moderating/mediating factors *****
• Health behaviors/health habits/health promotion or preventive practices of caregivers **
• Facilitation of health of care recipients *
2
Literature on Caregiver Health
• Consistent finding:
– Higher levels of depression and other psychological symptoms (Pinquart & Sorensen, 2003; Scharlach et al., 1997; Vitalianao, Zhang, & Scanlan, 2003)
• Inconsistent findings:
– Higher odds of not getting enough rest, not having enough time to exercise, not having time to recuperate from illness, and forgetting to take prescription medications (Burton et al., 1997)
3
Literature on Caregiver Health
• Inconsistent findings:
– More likely to eat breakfast daily, get flu shots, and receive pneumonia jabs but do not differ on 10 other health promotion/risk behaviors (Scharlach et al., 1997)
– Leisure-time exercise lower in spousal caregivers and non-spouse caregivers than married non-caregivers (Fredman et al., 2006)
4
Methodology
•Study aim•Sample description•Qualitative interviews/Thematic analysis
5
Major themes
A. Caregiver health promotion1. Physical health promotion behavior
2. Psychosocial health promotion behavior
B. Formal support and health care of caregivers
6
Major themes and sub-themes
7
Caregiver health promotion
Formal support and health care of caregivers
Physical health promotion behaviors
Psycho-social health promotion behaviors
•Regularity of exercise•Getting physical check-up or examination•Adequacy of sleep
•Taking care of self•Getting support from paid help•Taking respite•Getting social support•Getting spiritual support
•Giving advice/information•Providing direct caregiver support services