Caregiving demand and difficulty in older adult spousal caregivers after coronary artery bypass surgery

Esther O. Park, Bernice C. Yates, Karen L. Schumacher, Jane Meza, Karl Kosloski, Carol H Pullen

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

17 Scopus citations

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to describe the caregiving demands and difficulties for older adult spousal caregivers of coronary artery bypass (CAB) surgery patients. Caregiving demands and difficulties were measured by the Caregiving Burden Scale. The sample size was 35 caregivers of CAB surgery patients who were, on average, 60 years old and 19 days since hospital discharge. Descriptive analysis revealed that the top four most demanding caregiving activities perceived by spousal caregivers were providing transportation, additional household tasks, providing emotional support, and two tied for fourth: monitoring symptoms and additional tasks outside the home. The top four most difficult caregiving tasks were additional household tasks, providing transportation, and two tied for third: additional tasks outside home and managing behavior problems. Also, caregivers reported experiencing more demands than difficulties. Examining the demanding and difficult caregiving tasks provides information from which to develop and test tailored interventions for caregivers of this population.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)383-387
Number of pages5
JournalGeriatric Nursing
Volume34
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2013

Keywords

  • CAB surgery
  • Caregiving demand
  • Caregiving difficulty
  • Older adult
  • Spousal caregivers

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Gerontology

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