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1 – 10 of 479Jennifer Trivedi and Megan Stevens
People with chronic conditions faced a type of double jeopardy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their pre-existing health conditions made them more likely to become severely ill  
Abstract
People with chronic conditions faced a type of double jeopardy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their pre-existing health conditions made them more likely to become severely ill – and more likely to be admitted to intensive care, intubated, and die – if infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. At the same time, access to needed screening, testing, and treatment was often limited due to the cancelation of primary care services by healthcare providers and systems overwhelmed by the need to treat patients with COVID-19. Patients with chronic conditions feared being exposed to COVID-19 while receiving care. The resulting stress, fear, and anxiety made the management of chronic diseases even more difficult. Several subsets of patients with certain medical conditions, including immunodeficiencies and disabilities, were particularly impacted. The COVID-19 pandemic, and the response to it, also impacted support and services available to caregivers and heightened stress, particularly among parents and caregivers.
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SunWoo Kang and Nadine F. Marks
Guided by a life course theoretical perspective, this study aimed to examine associations between providing caregiving for a young or adult son or daughter with special needs and…
Abstract
Purpose
Guided by a life course theoretical perspective, this study aimed to examine associations between providing caregiving for a young or adult son or daughter with special needs and multiple dimensions of physical health status among married midlife and older adults, as well as moderation of these associations by gender and marital quality (i.e., marital strain).
Method
Regression models were estimated using data from 1,058 married adults aged 33–83 (National Survey of Midlife in the U.S. (MIDUS), 2005).
Findings
Parental caregiving for a young or adult child with special needs (in contrast to no caregiving) was linked to poorer global health and more physical symptoms among both fathers and mothers. Father caregivers reported slightly more chronic conditions than noncaregiving men, regardless of marital quality. By contrast, mother caregivers reported a much higher number of chronic conditions when they also reported a high level of marital strain, but not when they reported a low level of marital strain.
Originality/value
Overall, results provide evidence from a national sample that midlife and older parents providing caregiving for a child with special needs are at risk for poorer health outcomes, and further tentatively suggest that greater marital strain may exacerbate health risks, particularly among married mother caregivers.
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Hien T. La, Cassandra L. Hua and J. Scott Brown
Purpose: Caregivers are at risk of increased burden, and caregivers who provide care for a long duration may be at higher risk than short-term caregivers. The purpose of this…
Abstract
Purpose: Caregivers are at risk of increased burden, and caregivers who provide care for a long duration may be at higher risk than short-term caregivers. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between caregiving duration and caregiver burden, as well as whether the relationship was moderated by paid leave.
Design/methodology/approach: We utilized a sample of employed caregivers from the Caregiving in the US 2015 dataset (n = 585) collected by the American Association of Retired Persons. Using a structural equation modeling approach, we examined the study relationships.
Findings: The authors found that caregiving duration was associated with increased burden. Although there was no direct relationship between paid leave and caregiver burden, paid leave buffered the association between caregiving duration and caregiver burden.
Research limitations/implications: This study is limited by a cross-sectional design. Longitudinal data collection efforts are needed to further examine the possible effects of paid leave on well-being and health outcomes.
Practical implications: Findings indicate a potential need to consider developing support programs for caregivers based on how long they need to provide care.
Societal implications: Policies are needed to decrease the burden felt by caregivers, especially those who provide care for a long period of time.
Originality/value: The current study is the first to explore the interrelationships among caregiving duration, paid leave, and caregiver burden.
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Seung-won Emily Choi and Zhenmei Zhang
Purpose: In recent decades, it has been a burgeoning trend in South Korea that older women are more actively engaged in grandparenting (i.e., caring for grandchildren) as they are…
Abstract
Purpose: In recent decades, it has been a burgeoning trend in South Korea that older women are more actively engaged in grandparenting (i.e., caring for grandchildren) as they are living longer and healthier lives. The present study examines how grandparenting is associated with the mental health of grandmothers.
Design/methodology/approach: Drawing from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (2008–2012, N = 2,814), we used growth curve models to estimate the trajectories of grandmothers’ depressive symptoms by grandparenting type.
Findings: The results show that caregiving grandmothers in multigenerational households experience a decline in depressive symptoms with age, despite having a higher mean level of depressive symptoms than non-caregiving grandmothers at age 47; whereas the non-caregiving grandmothers experience an increase in depressive symptoms with age. Grandmothers who provide non-coresident grandparenting (i.e., babysitting) are not significantly different from non-caregiving grandmothers in the rate of increase in depressive symptoms.
Originality/value: Grandparenting in multigenerational households may have a beneficial effect on older women’s mental health over time in South Korea. This finding is robust after we control for socioeconomic status, health behaviors, and social support.
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Hannes Zacher and Heiko Schulz
In many countries, both the number of older people in need of care and the number of employed caregivers of elderly relatives will increase over the next decades. The purpose of…
Abstract
Purpose
In many countries, both the number of older people in need of care and the number of employed caregivers of elderly relatives will increase over the next decades. The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which perceived organizational, supervisor, and coworker support for eldercare reduce employed caregivers’ strain and weaken the relationship between eldercare demands and strain.
Design/methodology/approach
Survey data were collected from 100 employed caregivers from one organization.
Findings
Results showed that eldercare demands were positively related to strain, and perceived organizational eldercare support (POES) was negatively related to strain. In addition, high POES weakened the relationship between eldercare demands and strain.
Research limitations/implications
The cross-sectional design and use of self-report scales constitute limitations of the study.
Practical implications
POES is a resource for employed caregivers, especially when their eldercare demands are high.
Originality/value
This research highlights the relative importance of different forms of perceived support for reducing employed caregivers’ strain and weakening the relationship between eldercare demands and strain.
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Relationships between adult children and their aging parents are challenged when parents need help or care. As a consequence, adult children often experience a transition in their…
Abstract
Relationships between adult children and their aging parents are challenged when parents need help or care. As a consequence, adult children often experience a transition in their filial role as older parents experience functional losses and the children have to reorganize and restructure their relationship with them (Lang & Schütze, 2002). This filial task competes with other demands of midlife (such as family and career demands). As a consequence, the filial role in midlife may be associated with contradictory experiences in the relationship with one’s parents, typically entailing a high potential for ambivalence.
Specifically feminist perspectives are largely absent from the developing discourse of elder abuse in the United Kingdom. This paper describes how focus groups were used to gather…
Abstract
Specifically feminist perspectives are largely absent from the developing discourse of elder abuse in the United Kingdom. This paper describes how focus groups were used to gather older women's understandings and experiences of elder abuse. A perspective on elder abuse that prioritises relationships, rather than action or behaviour, is proposed as central to assessing the relations of abuse in later life.
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The aging world population provides a unique opportunity for women and entrepreneurs to shape their long-lived futures. Women control the purchasing power and healthcare decisions…
Abstract
The aging world population provides a unique opportunity for women and entrepreneurs to shape their long-lived futures. Women control the purchasing power and healthcare decisions in most families and, over the next few decades, will control most of the world’s wealth. Entrepreneurs will continue to create new platforms, products, and services for the two billion people who will reach age 60 by 2050. Yet, the future is not without challenges. Most products and services are designed around the family and the expectation that family members will be involved, even remotely, with the care of aging relatives. Family caregiving strains careers, health, and savings; planning for longevity is no longer an option but a necessity. The chapter provides rich detail about current innovators in the healthcare and eldercare ecosystems and offers specific guidance for navigating the aging journey successfully. Importantly, it highlights the role of women as entrepreneurs and innovative leaders in the longevity economy.
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Chisom Joy Mbadugha, Ngozi Phoebe Ogbonnaya, Peace Njideka Iheanacho, Ngozi Joy Omotola, Pleasure Nwakaego Ogbonna and Chinenye Juliet Anetekhai
Schizophrenia, a chronic mental disorder, poses enormous threat to the individual, family and society. The advent of deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill transferred the…
Abstract
Purpose
Schizophrenia, a chronic mental disorder, poses enormous threat to the individual, family and society. The advent of deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill transferred the burden of care to families especially close relatives. Few studies have described the families' subjective views in this context. Hence, this study aimed to explore impacts of caregiving and coping strategies for family caregivers of patients with schizophrenia in Enugu, South East Nigeria.
Design/methodology/approach
A descriptive qualitative design was employed, and 14 family caregivers of individuals with schizophrenia attending federal neuropsychiatric hospital Enugu were purposively selected. A semi-structured interview guide was used to generate information, and the transcribed data were content analyzed using a thematic approach.
Findings
Three major themes and 16 subthemes were derived to reflect the perceived impact of caregiving and coping strategies of family caregivers, which include burden of care (physical-self neglect, ill health, sleep deprivation; psychological-gross irritability, ruminations; social-stigmatization, social restrictions, diminished connections, reduced productivity); positive aspects (heightened understanding; empathetic attitude, strengthened ties) and adaptive resources (acceptance, optimism, social support, spiritual devotion).
Originality/value
Family caregivers of individuals with schizophrenia experience bio-psychosocial burden as a result of caregiving. Coping with challenges of caregiving can prevent distress and burnout. Hence, there is need for mental health professionals to recognize caregivers as person in need of emotional and practical support and care for the mentally ill in the context of a family-centered approach.
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Caitlin Cavanagh, Amanda Osuna, Roberta Liggett-O'Malley, Marina Henke and Elizabeth Cauffman
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated chronic disparities in income, employment and health-care access. Yet, little is known about how various sources of economic and emotional…
Abstract
Purpose
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated chronic disparities in income, employment and health-care access. Yet, little is known about how various sources of economic and emotional strain (i.e. caregiving, justice system involvement and documentation status) intersect during the pandemic. The purpose of this study is to understand how undocumented women in justice-involved families experienced the pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
Surveys of 221 mothers of justice-involved youth examined differences between documented and undocumented parents in COVID-19 testing, health and economic concerns related to the pandemic and generalized anxiety.
Findings
The results revealed undocumented women were less likely to receive COVID-19 testing than documented women, despite no difference between the two groups in suspicion that they may have contracted the virus. Also, undocumented women were more concerned than documented women about losing a job, not having enough food, not having enough non-food supplies, not having access to basic utilities or internet, losing their usual childcare services and losing a loved one to COVID-19.
Originality/value
The findings highlight the vulnerability of justice-involved families who have an undocumented member and implications for long-term solutions to address these disparities are discussed.
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