Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-dfsvx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-25T20:08:09.621Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Anxiety among informal hospice caregivers: An exploratory study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 February 2014

Karla T. Washington ,
George Demiris ,
Kenneth C. Pike ,
Robin L. Kruse  and
Debra Parker Oliver
Karla T. Washington*
Affiliation:
Curtis W. & Ann H. Long Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri
George Demiris
Affiliation:
Department of Biobehavioral Nursing & Health Services, School of Nursing and Department of Biomedical & Health Informatics, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
Kenneth C. Pike
Affiliation:
Department of Psychosocial Nursing & Community Health, School of Nursing, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
Robin L. Kruse
Affiliation:
Curtis W. & Ann H. Long Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri
Debra Parker Oliver
Affiliation:
Curtis W. & Ann H. Long Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Karla T. Washington, Department of Family & Community Medicine, University of Missouri, MA306 Medical Sciences Building, DC032.00, Columbia, Missouri 65212. E-mail: washingtonkar@health.missouri.edu.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Objective:

This study examined the prevalence of clinically significant anxiety among informal hospice caregivers and identified the characteristics of caregivers who experienced anxiety of this severity.

Method:

An exploratory secondary data analysis pooled from three separate studies of informal hospice caregivers (N = 433) was conducted. Researchers employed descriptive statistics to calculate anxiety prevalence and utilized logistic regression to model the associations between the covariates (i.e., caregiver characteristics) and anxiety.

Results:

Overall, 31% of informal hospice caregivers reported moderate or higher levels of anxiety. Caregivers associated with the research site in the Northwest were less likely to be anxious than those in the Southeast [χ2(3, N = 433) = 7.07, p = 0.029], and employed caregivers were less likely to be anxious than unemployed caregivers (OR = 0.56, 95% CI = 0.33, 0.96). The likelihood of being anxious decreased with increasing physical quality of life (OR = 0.77, 95% CI = 0.69, 0.85), and younger female caregivers were more likely to be anxious than male caregivers and older females (OR = 0.95, CI = 0.91, 0.99).

Significance of Results:

A noteworthy number of informal hospice caregivers experience clinically significant levels of anxiety. Increased efforts to screen and address anxiety in this population are recommended.

Keywords

AnxietyHospice careCaregiversFamily
Type
Original Articles
Information
Palliative & Supportive Care , Volume 13 , Issue 3 , June 2015 , pp. 567 - 573
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Bryant, C., Jackson, H. & Ames, D. (2008). The prevalence of anxiety in older adults: Methodological issues and a review of the literature. Journal of Affective Disorders, 109(3), 233–250.Google Scholar
Chentsova-Dutton, Y., Shucter, S., Hutchin, S., et al. (2000). The psychological and physical health of hospice caregivers. Annals of Clinical Psychiatry, 12(1), 19–27.Google Scholar
Cooper, C., Katona, C., Orrell, M., et al. (2008). Coping strategies, anxiety and depression in caregivers of people with Alzheimer's disease. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 23(9), 929–936.Google Scholar
Courtney, K., Demiris, G., Oliver, D.P., et al. (2005). Conversion of the Caregiver Quality of Life Index to an interview instrument. European Journal of Cancer Care (English Language Edition), 14(5), 463–464.Google Scholar
Demiris, G., Oliver, D.P., Washington, K., et al. (2010). A problem-solving intervention for hospice caregivers: A pilot study. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 13(8), 1005–1011.Google Scholar
Demiris, G., Parker Oliver, D., Wittenberg-Lyles, E., et al. (2012). A non-inferiority trial of a problem-solving intervention for hospice caregivers: In person versus videophone. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 15(6), 653–660.Google Scholar
Dumont, S., Turgeon, J., Allard, P., et al. (2006). Caring for a loved one with advanced cancer: Determinants of psychological distress in family caregivers. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 9(4), 912–921.Google Scholar
Funk, L., Stajduhar, K., Toye, C., et al. (2010). Home-based family caregiving at the end of life, part 2: A comprehensive review of published qualitative research (1998–2008). Palliative Medicine, 24(6), 594–607.Google Scholar
Given, B., Wyatt, G., Given, C., et al. (2004). Burden and depression among caregivers of patients with cancer at the end of life. Oncology Nursing Forum, 31(6), 1105–1117.Google Scholar
Grov, E.K., Dahl, A.A., Moum, T., et al. (2005). Anxiety, depression, and quality of life in caregivers of patients with cancer in late palliative phase. Annals of Oncology, 16(7), 1185–1191.Google Scholar
Grunfeld, E., Coyle, D., Whelan, T., et al. (2004). Family caregiver burden: Results of a longitudinal study of breast cancer patients and their principal caregivers. CMAJ: Canadian Medical Association Journal, 170(12), 1795–1801.Google Scholar
Haley, W.E., Allen, R.S., Reynolds, S.A., et al. (2002). Family issues in end-of-life decision making and end-of-life care. American Behavioral Scientist, 46(2), 284–298.Google Scholar
Krasucki, C., Howard, R. & Mann, A. (1998). The relationship between anxiety disorders and age. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 13(2), 79–99.Google Scholar
Lindstrom, K.B. & Mazurek Melnyk, B. (2013). Feasibility and preliminary effects of an intervention targeting schema development for caregivers of newly admitted hospice patients. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 16(6), 680–685.Google Scholar
McMillan, S.C. (2005). Interventions to facilitate family caregiving at the end of life. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 8(Suppl. 1), S132–S139.Google Scholar
National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (2005). End-of-life caregiving. Available from http://www.caringinfo.org/userfiles/File/EOL_Caregiver_booklet.pdf.Google Scholar
Pigott, T.A. (2003). Anxiety disorders in women. Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 26(3), 621–672.Google Scholar
Sareen, J., Cox, B.J., Clara, I., et al. (2005). The relationship between anxiety disorders and physical disorders in the U.S. National Comorbidity Survey. Depression and Anxiety, 21(4), 193–202.Google Scholar
Schulz, R., O'Brien, A., Czaja, S., et al. (2002). Dementia caregiver intervention research: In search of clinical significance. The Gerontologist, 42(5), 589–602.Google Scholar
Spitzer, R.L., Kroenke, K., Williams, J.B., et al. (2006). A brief measure for assessing generalized anxiety disorder: The GAD-7. Archives of Internal Medicine, 166(10), 1092–1097.Google Scholar
Waldrop, D.P. & Meeker, M.A. (2012). Hospice decision making: Diagnosis makes a difference. The Gerontologist, 52(5), 686–697.Google Scholar
Weisberg, R.B. (2009). Overview of Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Epidemiology, presentation, and course. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 70(Suppl. 2), 4–9.Google Scholar
Williams, A.L. & McCorkle, R. (2011). Cancer family caregivers during the palliative, hospice, and bereavement phases: A review of the descriptive psychosocial literature. Palliative & Supportive Care, 9(3), 315–325.Google Scholar
Wittenberg-Lyles, E., Demiris, G., Parker Oliver, D., et al. (2012). Stress variances among informal hospice caregivers. Qualitative Health Research, 22(8), 1114–1125.Google Scholar
Yilmaz, A., Turan, E. & Gundogar, D. (2009). Predictors of burnout in the family caregivers of Alzheimer's disease: Evidence from Turkey. Australasian Journal on Ageing, 28(1), 16–21.Google Scholar