Elderly caregivers of the elderly: frailty, loneliness and depressive symptoms

Effects of empathy training on psychological concerns and empathy in caregivers of older people: A randomized, double-blind, crossover, clinical trial with follow-up

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the effects of empathy training on psychological concerns and empathy in caregivers of older people.

METHODS

A randomized, double-blind, crossover, clinical trial with follow-up was conducted online. Thirty paid and unpaid caregivers of older people from different regions of Brazil participated in an empathy training program. The caregivers answered a sociodemographic questionnaire and measures for the evaluation of empathy (affective and cognitive domains), burden, the impact of providing care as well as depressive symptoms and psychiatric symptoms before and immediately after training. Empathy and its domains were also assessed at three post-intervention follow-ups.

RESULTS

Empathy training diminished levels of psychological concerns. Moreover, an increase was found in levels of cognitive empathy 15, 30 and 60 days after the intervention.

CONCLUSIONS

Empathy training with a focus on cognitive empathy diminished psychological concerns in caregivers of older people and increased the levels of this ability over time. This intervention can be considered a coping strategy for negative impacts related to providing care.

CLINICA LTRIAL REGISTRATION

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Associations between loneliness and physical frailty in community-dwelling older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVES

Older adults may be at increased risk of loneliness. Frailty is also common in older adults, however, associations between loneliness and frailty have been understudied. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to explore evidence on how loneliness and frailty are correlated.

METHODS

A systematic search of the literature was conducted using 4 electronic databases in February 2022 for any studies published in 2000 or later that provided cross-sectional or longitudinal associations between loneliness and physical frailty in community-dwelling older adults. A meta-analysis was attempted to combine data when possible.

RESULTS

From 1386 studies identified by the initial search, 16 studies were included for this review. Standardized mean difference (SMD) meta-analysis based on mean loneliness score across 3 frailty groups provided by 6 cross-sectional studies showed that worse frailty status was significantly associated with a higher degree of loneliness (SMD between frail and robust, frail and prefrail, and prefrail and robust were 0.77 (95% confidence interval (CI)= 0.57-0.96), 0.37 (95%CI=0.25-0.50), and 0.30 (95%CI=0.20-0.40), respectively.) Meta-analyses combining cross-sectional data from 6 studies revealed that frailty was significantly associated with a higher risk of loneliness compared with robustness (3 studies: pooled OR=3.51, 95%CI=2.70-4.56 for frailty, pooled OR=1.88, 95%CI=1.57-2.25 for prefrailty) and compared with non-frailty (4 studies: pooled OR=2.05, 95%CI=1.76-2.39). A meta-analysis involving two longitudinal studies showed that baseline loneliness was associated with a significantly higher risk of worsening frailty (2 studies: pooled OR=1.41, 95%CI=1.16-1.72).

CONCLUSIONS

This systematic review and meta-analysis was the first, to our knowledge, to quantitatively demonstrate significant cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between loneliness and frailty in community-dwelling older adults.

The relationship between the mental health status and social support of the lonely elderly with government participation in the Internet context

Objective

At present, urban community aging has become a new way to solve aging problem and has made outstanding contributions to alleviate current aging dilemma. However, there are still deficiencies in the services provided by this new method of community-based elderly care for the elderly who are left alone. Therefore, this paper explores the problems of government policies, facilities and services for the elderly who have lost their independence, analyzes the reasons behind them, and proposes countermeasures.

Method

This paper introduces and compares the government's current services for the elderly who are left alone in the city at the level of community-based elderly care services. From the existing literature, we find that most researchers have studied the single-parent family as an individual, exploring its elderly care dilemma, analyzing the causes and proposing countermeasures. It introduces and summarizes the situation of the elderly left alone in Taiyuan, the government's policies on the elderly left alone and community elderly care, the current community elderly care construction in Taiyuan, and the service models provided by the government.

Results/Discussion

This paper provides a detailed description and in-depth analysis of the lack of elderly care protection in communities, and analyzes the underlying causes. Activity theory suggests that even though older people are no longer in the same mental state as younger people, they can still enhance their self-worth through active participation in social activities and gain a sense of social identity through social activities. The services provided by social organizations are typical services purchased by the Health and Welfare Commission for the elderly who are left alone, and it is feasible to gradually extend the services to provide more specialized community-based elderly care services for the elderly who are left alone. Therefore, this study takes the use of services provided by social organizations as an example to understand the current situation of services received and used by the elderly who are left alone, and concludes that the services are weakly accessible, and finally proposes suggestions to improve the accessibility of services in three aspects: supply, delivery, and use.

Loneliness, Anxiety, Depression, and Adoption of the Role of Caregiver of Older Adults with Chronic Diseases during COVID-19

Objective: To determine the effect of loneliness, anxiety, and depression on adopting the role of caregiver of older adults with chronic conditions in a sample of Mexican caregivers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and method: Predictive and correlational design. The study was conducted with 157 caregivers through the dyad characterization scale, the HADS scale, the UCLA scale, and the Caregiver role adoption scale. The analysis used descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: Most participants were female, with a mean care time of seven months. Mostly, the caregivers have anxiety as a clinical problem (27 %), doubtful depression (14.9 %), profound loneliness (66.2 %), and satisfactory adoption of the role (71.2 %). We found that the more significant the role of adoption, the lower the anxiety, depression, and loneliness levels (p < .05). The psychosocial factors, the age of the person cared for, the age of the informal caregiver, and the care time explained 36 % of the variance in role adoption (F = 13.12; p < .01), with loneliness as a predictive variable. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the caregivers’ mental health and caused profound loneliness, the latter being a predictor for adopting the role.

Interventions to reduce loneliness in caregivers: An integrative review of the literature

Older adults are at an increased risk of loneliness. Many also serve as informal caregivers for persons with dementia and other disabling conditions, further predisposing them to loneliness. The primary objective was to assess current loneliness interventions for caregivers to inform development of effective therapies to improve their quality of life. An integrative review of the literature was conducted using five electronic databases and 12 studies were included for further analysis. Data were extracted regarding the type of intervention implemented, caregiver characteristics, and intervention effects. Five main intervention types emerged: mindful meditation, computer applications, music therapy, peer support, and community programs. Most care recipients had dementia, and most caregivers were spouses. Peer support was the most frequently utilized intervention, and common intervention strategies included providing emotional support, expanding one's social network, and supplying psychoeducational materials. Most interventions had methodological limitations and demonstrated small effect sizes. Hence, there remains a continued need for well-designed interventions that target loneliness in informal caregiver. Caregivers may benefit from interventions that expand their social network to improve their emotional regulation and understanding of their role. Further research on the role of group versus individual therapy is necessary to strengthen interventions and broaden their application.

Frailty is associated with sociodemographic and health factors and related to the care context of older caregivers: a Brazilian cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

The task of caring can arise suddenly without guidance or support, resulting in psychological tension and health impairment, which can culminate in the development of frailty.

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the relationship between frailty and sociodemographic and health aspects related to the care context of older caregivers.

DESIGN AND SETTING

A cross-sectional study was conducted on 65 older caregivers registered in family health units in the interior of the state of São Paulo.

METHODS

The participants were interviewed individually using the following instruments: a characterization questionnaire, Fried's frailty phenotype, Zarit Burden's Interview, Mini-Mental State Examination, Geriatric Depression Scale, Katz Index, and Lawton Scale. In addition, the following statistical tests were applied: Pearson's chi-squared test, Fisher's exact test, and Mann-Whitney test. A significance level of 5% was considered to be statistically significant.

RESULTS

Women who took care of their spouses predominated without prior training or the help of other people. Most of the patients were pre-frail (72.3%). Frailty was significantly related to marital status (P = 0.016), depressive symptoms (P = 0.029), cognitive decline (P = 0.029), the degree of kinship (P = 0.015), and burden (P = 0.004).

CONCLUSION

Older caregivers without a partner, with severe depressive symptoms and cognitive changes, who cared for their parents, and had higher levels of burden, presented a higher proportion of frailty.

Competência de idosos cuidadores informais de pessoas em assistência domiciliar

Resumo Objetivos analisar a estimativa condicional do conhecimento, adaptação e preparo nas competências de idosos que exercem o papel de cuidadores informais de pessoas dependentes de cuidado em assistência domiciliar. Método estudo transversal, realizado com idosos cuidadores informais, residentes no município de Maringá, Paraná, Brasil. A coleta de dados foi realizada entre maio e julho de 2019 com um instrumento que avalia as competências cognitivas, psicomotoras, emocionais e relacionais de cuidadores informais de pessoas dependentes de cuidado em assistência domiciliar. O instrumento é constituído por 14 itens e três construtos: conhecimento, adaptação e preparo, sendo a escala de resposta Likert de cinco pontos. Utilizou-se análise de regressão linear para tratamento das variáveis. Resultados participaram do estudo 101 idosos cuidadores informais, e as estimativas condicionais das competências cognitiva e relacional apresentaram maior correlação com adaptação e o preparo. O melhor conhecimento estima maior desenvolvimento da competência psicomotora e cognitiva nas práticas de cuidado. Conclusão e implicações para a prática os conceitos hipotéticos de conhecimento, adaptação e preparo explicam o melhor desempenho das competências cognitiva, relacional e psicomotora de idosos cuidadores informais. Este resultado possibilita o desenvolvimento de novas intervenções educativas aos idosos que desempenham o papel de cuidador informal.

Musculoskeletal disorders of older adults: an integrative literature review

OBJECTIVE

to analyze in available scientific literature what problems are caused to the musculoskeletal system of caregivers of older adults in the home environment.

METHODS

an integrative literature review indexed in the PubMed, CINAHL, Web of Science, SCOPUS, BDENF, LILACS and SciELO databases.

RESULTS

the sample totaled 17 studies that showed three thematic categories: Care overload for caregivers' health; Caregivers' physical illness; Caregiver self-neglect.

CONCLUSION

the evidence identified health problems for caregivers of older adults, regarding the musculoskeletal system, demonstrating the importance of considering intervention strategies that provide guidelines for self-care guidelines, in order to prevent musculoskeletal complications resulting from older adults' care activities at home.

Association between perceived social support and better cognitive performance among caregivers and non-caregivers

OBJECTIVE

to identify the association between the characteristics of the support network and cognitive performance of older caregivers and compare characteristics between caregivers and non-caregivers.

METHODS

we evaluated 85 older caregivers and 84 older non-caregivers registered with primary care units regarding sociodemographic characteristics, cognition, and social support. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed.

RESULTS

among non-caregivers, significant associations were found between a better cognitive performance and receiving emotional/affectionate support; each one-point increase in the emotional support score and affectionate support score was related to a 0.43-point and 0.39-point increase in cognitive assessment, respectively. Among older caregivers, each one-point increase in the emotional support score was related to a 0.55-point increase in cognitive assessment.

CONCLUSION

strengthening the support networks of older caregivers and encouraging satisfactory exchanges of social support can assist in improving cognitive performance, which can have a positive impact on caregivers' health.

Subjective life experiences of family caregivers of dependent older adults

This study aimed to understand the subjective meanings attributed to home care by family caregivers of dependent older adults through a multicenter qualitative investigation that gathered 84 in-depth interviews with family caregivers from eight Brazilian locations. The hermeneutic-dialectic, theoretical, methodological framework was employed. The following categories emerged from the analysis: 1. Movements inhibiting emotions and feelings; 2. Presence of processes of symbiosis and emotional dependence in the older adult-relative relationship; 3. Contentment in caring for the dependent older adult; and 4. Giving up current and future life projects. The results reveal life experiences marked by symbiotic processes, emotional dependence, and psychic stress. Dependence causes suffering and feelings of despair, powerlessness, impatience, but also solidarity and empathy. Withdrawal from the job market, social depreciation of family caregiver's activity, social isolation, neglected self-care, and family conflicts impact caregivers' subjectivity. The elaboration of public policies must consider the social-affective life experiences of family caregivers of dependent older adults in order to include the care of those providing care.

METAMORFOSIS IN THE LIVES OF ELDERLY PEOPLE CARING FOR DEPENDENT ELDERLY IN BRAZIL

ABSTRACT Objective: to understand the phenomenon concerning the change in life and routine of elderly family caregivers who care for dependent elderly family members in Brazil. Method: qualitative, exploratory and descriptive study, developed with 33 elderly family caregivers, from June to September 2019, in the cities of Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro, Porto Alegre, Araranguá, Manaus, Fortaleza and Teresina. Semi-structured interviews were conducted based on the theme of care, facilitating circumstances and difficulties. The analysis of the information was guided by the theoretical-methodological framework of hermeneutics-dialectics. Results: a comprehensive model of the experience of being an elderly caregiver of a dependent elderly family member. This process was part of two categories: "Assuming care" and "Unmet needs". The facilitating circumstances to assume care were positive emotions and bonds with the older person, acceptance of the disease, stable clinical status and support from health professionals, formal caregivers, domestic employees and family support. The difficulties were when the behavior of the dependent elderly becomes aggressive, experiencing loneliness, poor health, social isolation, financial restrictions and absence of social and health support. Conclusion: elderly caregivers are important agents in the exercise of care for the dependent elderly. When they have support, they can perform the care activities and have time to take care of themselves. However, for the most part, these people give up their lives, withdraw from the labor market, isolate themselves and suffer from the lack of material resources and support from health services.