Kings County Caregivers and Unpaid Caregiving Deborah Kiceniuk, PhD Adrian MacKenzie, BSc Andrew Harvey, PhD
Unpaid Caregiving Unpaid work households do by and for themselves, including domestic chores, childcare, and shopping
Objectives 1. To examine the relationship between caregiving and health behaviours and practices in relation to demographic variables 2. To examine similarities and differences in health behaviours and practices between caregivers in two Nova Scotian communities in relation to demographic variables
Variables – What we looked at! Demographics »gender, marital status, education, age, income, and occupational status Health Status »perceived physical and emotional health »objective measures – limited activity and medication use
Variables – cont’d Health Care Utilization » frequency of visits to physicians, other health care providers, mental health professionals, OP/Emerg. Health Behaviours » frequency of pap smears & mammograms, » smoking, exercise within various time frames
Variables – cont’d Social Support » frequency of contacting relatives or neighbours » frequency in attending religious events » ability to partake volunteer activities
Hypotheses – what we expected! Caregivers are more likely to be female, married, middle-aged, unemployed or not in the workforce, less education, lower income Caregivers poorer emotional health status, and similar physical health status Caregivers and non-caregivers will have similar health utilization and health behaviour patterns
Kings County - respondents 70% response rate 1869 respondents 57% Aged % Household inc. $35, % Female 40% University/ Community College 73% Married or Living CL
Demographics
Gender
Age
Marital Status
Main Activity
Household Income
Education Level
Emotional and Physical Health
Perceived Health Status
Activity Limitations
Pain Relievers/Anti-inflammatory
Stomach Remedies
Stress Levels
Time with Friends/Family
Trying to Accomplish More
Health Care Utilization
Physician Contact
Social Support
Contact with Family
Contact with Neighbors
Kings County and Glace Bay - Caregivers
Hypothesis 2 – What we expected The population of Kings County will be younger than that of Glace Bay Based on age: »Glace Bay caregivers will use health care services more frequently than Kings County »caregivers in Glace Bay will have lower income levels than those of Kings County
Age
Marital Status
Main Activity
Gender
Education Level
Household Income
Perceived Health Status
Activity Limitations
Chronic Diseases Caregivers Twice as many CG migraine headaches, and intestinal disorders Three times as many CG bowel disorders
Pain Relievers/Anti-inflammatory
Anti-depressants
Asthma Medications
Contact with Physicians
ER/OP Visits
Smoking
Exercise
Contact with Neighbours
Contact with Relatives
Suggestions for Future Research Resource availability Factors associated with care-receiver’s illness Length of time in caregiver role Caregiver’s health status pre- and post- caregiving role