Predictors of Burden and Resilience in Family Caregivers of Individuals With Opioid Use Disorder

Quality of Life and Incidence of Clinical Signs and Symptoms among Caregivers of Persons with Mental Disorders: A Cross-Sectional Study

BACKGROUND

Caring for individuals with mental disorders poses significant challenges for caregivers, often leading to compromised quality of life and mental health issues such as stress, anxiety, and depression. This study aims to assess the extent of these challenges among caregivers in Greece, identifying which demographic factors influence their well-being.

METHOD

A total of 157 caregivers were surveyed using the SF-12 Health Survey for quality-of-life assessment and the DASS-21 questionnaire for evaluating stress, anxiety, and depression symptoms. t-tests, Kruskal-Wallis tests, Pearson's correlation coefficients, and regression analyses were applied to understand the associations between demographics, quality of life, and mental health outcomes.

RESULTS

The study found that caregivers, especially women and younger individuals, faced high levels of mental health challenges. Marital status, educational level, and employment status also significantly influenced caregivers' well-being. Depression was the most significant factor negatively correlating with the mental component of quality of life. The magnitude of the burden experienced by caregivers highlighted the urgency for targeted social and financial support, as well as strategic treatment programs that consider caregiver well-being.

CONCLUSIONS

Caregivers of individuals with mental disorders endure significant stress, anxiety, and depression, influencing their quality of life. Demographic factors such as age, gender, marital status, education, and employment status have notable impacts. Findings emphasize the need for society-wide recognition of caregivers' roles and the creation of comprehensive support and intervention programs to alleviate their burden, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Perceived Stressors and Support in Family Caregivers of Individuals With Opioid Use Disorder

ABSTRACT

Stress experienced by family caregivers of individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) contributes to caregiver burden. To understand the stressors experienced by family caregivers of individuals with OUD and the factors that influence their personal resiliency, data were collected from a convenience sample of family caregivers who answered two open-ended questions about sources of stress and factors that affect their personal resilience as part of an online survey. Yin's thematic analysis revealed five objective and two subjective burden themes and four resilience themes. Results indicate OUD places significant burden on families and may contribute to decreased physical and mental well-being in caregivers. Caregivers who perceived adequate support were able to use their experience and innate knowledge to cope and emerge with more resilience. Results of this study support the need for translational research to increase resilience and coping in this population of caregivers.

e-Delphi Study: Expert Consensus on the Needs and Resources Available to Family Caregivers of Individuals with Substance Use Disorder

Family caregivers of individuals with substance use disorder (SUD) experience a significant burden and have few evidence-based resources available.

To obtain a consensus of expert views on the needs, and resources available, to family caregivers of individuals with SUD given the COVID-19 pandemic and other sociopolitical factors.

Quantitative design using the Classic e-Delphi method of multiple iterations of questioning to reach a consensus among expert panelists. Purposive sampling was used to recruit a multidisciplinary, nationwide panel of SUD experts from professional contacts, professional organization list servers, websites relevant to support groups for family caregivers, flyers, and word of mouth. In round 1 panelists (n = 96) responded to open-ended questions about the support provided to family caregivers, and the additional needs of family caregivers. In subsequent rounds, the panel rated collated responses in terms of agreement (n = 54) and importance (n = 48).

Thematic content analysis identified ten needs in the resources available to family caregivers. Consensus was obtained across thematic categories and the remaining items were ranked according to importance.

Participatory-based SUD research that includes the expertise of healthcare providers, support leaders, and family caregivers is necessary to develop evidence-based interventions to increase caregiver resilience and facilitate coping. Several clear conclusions that address social and structural determinants of health emerged, including the need for increased access to healthcare and community services, more self-care strategies for families, and focused public advocacy to reduce SUD-related stigma.

Caregivers of people with substance use or mental health disorders in the US

Background: Caregiving for persons with substance use and/or mental health disorders (SU/MHD) and other conditions places significant strains on caregivers. Methods: The present study used Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (a US health survey) data to (1) compare caregivers of recipients with SU/MHD to those of recipients with other conditions on demographic and caregiving characteristics and health outcomes and (2) examine demographic and caregiving characteristics that were associated with poorer health outcomes among caregivers of persons with SU/MHD. Results: Caregivers of people with SU/MHD were more likely than other caregiver groups (of recipients with medical, cognitive, developmental disability, and old age-related conditions) to report poor general health, physical health, and mental health, as well as activities limitations, having been diagnosed with depression, and binge drinking. Among the group of caregivers of recipients with SU/MHD, those caring for a parent were more likely to report poor physical health, poor mental health, depression, and binge drinking than those caring for a friend, relative, child, or spouse. In addition, caregivers who provided SU/MHD-related caregiving for a longer duration and for whom caregiving included household help were less likely to report poor mental health, depression, or binge drinking. Conclusions: Findings underscore the importance of the substance use disorder treatment system developing improved institutional and structural support for caregivers of recipients with SU/MHD.

Becoming our young people’s case managers: caregivers’ experiences, needs, and ideas for improving opioid use treatments for young people using opioids

Background

Evidence continues to show that young people, ages 15-24, remain at significant risk of harms from non-medical opioid use and opioid use disorder (OUD), with experts calling for widespread implementation of developmentally-appropriate interventions. These recommendations include the involvement of caregivers in the prevention, early intervention, and treatment of young people using opioids. However, little research has investigated caregivers’ experiences supporting young people, leaving critical gaps in understanding this role. The aim of this study is to explore caregivers’ experiences accessing opioid use treatments with young people and their needs and ideas for improving such treatments.

Methods

This study reports qualitative findings from Phase 1 of the Improving Treatment Together project, a multi-phase, multi-site community-based participatory study broadly aimed at co-designing opioid use treatments to improve the experiences and outcomes of young people using non-medical opioids. During Phase 1, a total of 27 caregivers (parents, guardians) participated in full-day workshops that were conducted in three communities in British Columbia, Canada. Following human-centred co-design methods, caregivers engaged in small and large group discussions of their experiences, needs, and ideas for improving opioid use treatments for young people. Discussions were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and thematically analysed.

Results

Across communities, caregivers’ main experiences were defined as ‘becoming our young people’s case managers’ and ‘enduring a never-ending rollercoaster’. To improve these experiences, two needs themes were identified – expanding organizational and system-level capacity and wider-spread understanding of opioid use as a health issue. Caregivers brainstormed a total of 378 individual ideas to meet these needs, several of which spanned multiple needs themes.

Conclusions

Caregivers’ experiences, needs, and ideas reveal critical opportunities for improving the quality of interventions for opioid use among young people. This study represents a substantial contribution to the design and implementation of developmentally-appropriate and family-centred interventions for young people using opioids.

Model of Family Caregiver Resilience and Burden in Opioid Use Disorder

This theory synthesis provides a theoretical model for nursing researchers to examine factors that influence resilience and burden in family caregivers of individuals with opioid use disorder. Two frameworks, the Resiliency Model and the Conceptual Framework for Family Involvement with Adults with Co-occurring Substance and Mental Disorders, were synthesized and modified by incorporating concepts and conceptual relationships from recent research studies and experiential knowledge from clinical practice to develop a new model. The model predicts the impact of caregiver characteristics, caregiver support, stressors, and caregiver-care recipient dyad characteristics on caregiver well-being.