Spousal Caregiving: Keeping HealthyDr Ng Guat TinAsst Professor, Department of Social WorkNational University of SingaporeEmail: swkngt@nus.edu.sg

5th International Conference on Social Work

in Health and Mental Health (10-14 December 2006)

Caregiver quote

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“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 *

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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)

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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)

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Methodology

•Study aim•Sample description•Qualitative interviews/Thematic analysis

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Major themes

A. Caregiver health promotion1. Physical health promotion behavior

2. Psychosocial health promotion behavior

B. Formal support and health care of caregivers

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Major themes and sub-themes

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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