Abstract
The growth of cultural diversity in Canada, research knowledge on culturally diverse family caregivers for the aging population is lagging behind. This study examines the effects of family caregiving on the physical and mental health of family caregivers for the elderly care receivers in a Chinese-Canadian community. The data for this study were obtained from a panel of 111 randomly selected Chinese-Canadian family caregivers who took part in 3 waves of a longitudinal telephone survey in 2003, 2004, and 2005. Physical and mental health of the family caregivers was measured by a Chinese version SF-36 in the 2004 and 2005 studies. Caregiving burden was measured using a Chinese version Zarit Burden Interview. Hierarchical multiple regression was used. The findings indicated that caregiving burden in the 2003 study was significantly correlated with physical health and mental health of the family caregivers in both the 2004 and 2005 studies, even when controlled for the socio-demographic variables of the caregivers and care receivers, as well as health conditions and amount of care provided. Policies and practices should address the health effects of caregiving burden on the family caregivers. Caregiving is not just about caring for older adults. It is a public health issue affecting the long term health outcomes of more and more people in an aging society.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 91-105 |
| Number of pages | 15 |
| Journal | Hallym International Journal of Aging |
| Volume | 11 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Publication status | Published - Dec 2009 |
User-Defined Keywords
- Elderly
- Mental health
- Physical health