In a study of the effects of stress on caregivers' health, researchers at the University of Arkansas found a surprising link between the type of assistance caregivers provide and the amount of stress they report. "It came as no surprise to us that caregivers are under stress," said Barbara Shadden, director of the program in communication disorders, and co-director of the University of Arkansas (UA) Office for Studies on Aging along with fellow researcher Ro DiBrezzo, director of the UA Human Performance Lab. "What we did find striking is that not all forms of caregiving cause the same amount of stress."
Causes and Effects of Caregiver Stress
The results of the study have shed new light on the causes of caregiver stress, as well as the kind of support caregivers need to help them cope.
Approximately 45 million people in the United States devote a large portion of their lives to elder care or caregiving for someone who with a disability. Combine that with the demands of jobs, children and marriage, and the product is a tailor-made recipe for stress.
Money and Meds Most Stressful
The researchers determined that caregivers who provided more assistance with tasks such as managing money and medications reported more stress than caregivers who were involved primarily in assisting with physical needs.
"We believe the reason for this is because these responsibilities are related to the loved one's cognitive function," Shadden explained. "To watch someone, particularly a parent, lose cognitive abilities so that they cannot do the 'thinking' tasks that they used to, is very hard on the caregiver emotionally-and often is actually more stressful than assisting with the more physically demanding tasks such as bathing or cleaning."
Gender Differences
The study found that female caregivers tended to provide more assistance with basic physical needs, while male caregivers were more likely to help with activities such as managing finances. However, both men and women caregivers reported that dealing with a care recipient's cognitive and emotional difficulties is harder than dealing with physical challenges.
Caregivers Report Lower Overall Health Ratings
All forms of caregiving take both physical and emotional tolls on caregivers. According to their study, Shadden and DiBrezzo found that caregivers reported lower ratings of overall health, higher levels of stress, and lower overall health satisfaction than non-caregivers.
Chronic stress has also been linked to several major illnesses-including heart disease and cancer.
The Emotional Impact on Caregivers
The emotional impact of caregiving can be just as strong. Shadden and DiBrezzo found that many caregivers are subject to feelings of increased sadness, irritability, fatigue and guilt. These feelings, if left unaddressed, can lead to chronic depression.
So what are the best solutions for helping caregivers cope with stress?
In a University of Arkansas study, caregivers were asked about the support they need to provide elder care or care for someone with a disability.
Here's what most caregivers said they wanted:
? Access to more information and education
? The availability of professional resources
? The option of family leave time from employers
Psychological counseling, group therapy and support groups were typically the least favored options by both male and female caregivers. As DiBrezzo and Shadden noted, this points to the need for practical, real-world assistance to help caregivers better manage their situations.
Resources Are Available If You Know Where to Look
Ironically, many resources are already available, but caregivers simply do not know that they're out there. It's important for employers and agencies that offer these services to make sure caregivers are aware of them, the researchers said.
Area Agencies on Aging
DiBrezzo and Shadden recommend that caregivers start by contacting their local Area Agency on Aging for more information on support services.
This private, nonprofit organization, established 30 years ago by the Older American's Act, has branches in every state and offers access to a wide variety of resources for caregivers, including:
? Information and referrals
? Case management
? In-home care
? Home-delivered assistance devices
? Personal emergency response systems
? Access to adult day care
? Home delivered meals
? Senior activity centers
? Caregiver training programs
Finding an Area Agency on Aging
To find your local Area Agency on Aging, along with other resources for seniors and caregivers, use the online Eldercare Locator <http://www.eldercare.gov/Eldercare/Public/Home.asp>, a public service of the U.S. Administration on Aging, or call 1-800-677-1116 to speak to an Eldercare Locator information specialist.
What's the next step in this study of caregiver stress?
Determining the Physical Effects of Caregiver Stress
When Ro DiBrezzo and Barbara Shadden continue their study on the effects of caregiver stress, they will measure participants' biological stress indicators such as cortisol and IL-6 levels, which have been linked to heart disease and other health problems.
This will help them determine the precise physical effects of caregiver stress.
Caregivers May Not Recognize Stress Symptoms
"Because our definitions of what constitutes stress are fairly subjective, some people may be under great stress and not really be conscious of it, so they may not report being stressed when asked in a survey," DiBrezzo noted. "The biological markers, though, will still show up. That's why this phase of quantitative analysis is so important."
Understanding What Caregivers Need
The first part of this study showed that caregivers experience increased stress, and that caregivers feel less healthy.
Shadden and DiBrezzo's next step is to determine exactly what's going on in caregivers' bodies because of that stress and how it is affecting them.
"When this whole study is complete, we should have a better understanding of exactly what caregivers need and how we can help them cope," Shadden explained.
"This is really exciting research linked to quality of life."
