| |
Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
 | |
|
| Caregiving in the presence of chronic pain | | Author(s) | Fiona M Blyth, Robert G Cumming, Alan J M Brnabic |
| Journal title | Journals of Gerontology: Series A, Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, vol 63A, no 4, April 2008 |
| Pages | pp 399-407 |
| Source | http://www.geron.org |
| Keywords | Informal care ; Pain ; Ill health ; Stress ; Correlation ; Australia. |
| Annotation | Chronic pain sufferers and caregivers share the risk of higher levels of psychological distress and adverse effects on well-being. This study examined the joint impact of chronic pain and primary caregiving on older people. Data came from the New South Wales Older People's Health Survey (NSW OPHS) 1999, a state-wide general health survey of over 9000 NSW residents 65 years old or older. Using survey logistic regression modelling, it examined the relationship between chronic pain with different levels of disability, caregiving status, self-reported physical functioning, and two dependent variables: poor or fair self-rated health, and psychological distress. Caregivers with chronic pain reported more psychological distress and poorer self-rated health than caregivers without pain, when both were compared to non-caregivers without pain (age-adjusted and sex-adjusted odds ratios [ORs] for caregivers with pain were 3.4 and 2.8, respectively, both p <.001). Caregivers with pain and non-caregivers with pain had similar patterns of results. Physical function significantly declined for both caregivers and non-caregivers with pain when compared with non-caregivers without pain. (KJ/RH). Conclusions. Older people coping with caregiving and chronic pain are a potentially vulnerable group. Chronic pain status should be ascertained in older people who are caregivers, with particular attention to the issue of caregiver psychological distress and physical well-being. |
| Accession Number | CPA-091214204 A |
| Classmark | P6: CT7: CH: QNH: 49: 7YA |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
|
| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
| |
|