Caregiving and Caregivers in Glace Bay

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Caregiving and Caregivers in Glace Bay

• Deborah Kiceniuk, PhD
• Andrew Harvey, PhD
• Adrian Mackenzie, BSc

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Unpaid Caregiving

• Unpaid work households do by and for themselves,
  including domestic chores, childcare, and
  shopping

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Objectives

• 1. To examine the relationship between care
  giving and health behaviors and practices in
  relation to demographic variables
• 2. To examine similarities and differences in
  health behaviors and practices between caregivers
  in two Nova Scotian communities in relation to
  demographic variables

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Hypotheses what we expected!

• Caregivers are more likely to be female, married,
  middle-aged, unemployed, 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 behavior patterns

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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

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Variables contd

• Health Care Utilization
• frequency of visits to physicians, other
  health care providers, mental health
  professionals, OP/Emerg.
• Health Behaviors
• frequency of pap smears mammograms,
• smoking, exercise within various time
• frames

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Variables contd

• Social Support
• frequency of contacting relatives or neighbors
• frequency in attending religious events
• ability to partake volunteer activities

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Glace Bay - respondents
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Glace Bay - Caregivers
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Caregiver characteristics

• Non-Caregivers
• ?55.8 female
• ?58.5 - gt45 (N)
• ?58.8 - M/CL (N)

• Caregivers
• ? 12.6 of sample (206)
• ? 67.5 female (C)
• ? 69 - gt45 (C)
• ? 69.5 - M/CL (C)
• ? Similar income education levels

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Demographics
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Age

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Main Activity
14
Education Level
15
Household Income
16
Health Status
17
Perceived Health Status
18
Limited Activity Levels
19
Pain reliever/anti-inflammatory
20
Anti-depressants
21
Blood Pressure Medication
22
Stomach Remedies
23
Emotional Health and Stress
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Life Stress
25
Not Accomplished What You Want
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Enough Time with Family/Friends
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Trying to Accomplish More
28
Health Care Utilization
29
Physician Contacts
30
Visits to ER/OP
31
Health Practices and Behaviors
32
Mammograms
33
Pap Tests
34
Exercise Patterns
35
Smoking
36
Social Support
37
Contact with Family
38
Contact with Neighbours
39
Attendance at Religious Events
40
Volunteerism
41
Suggestions for Future Research

• Resource availability
• Factors associated with care-receivers illness
• Length of time in caregiver role
• Caregivers health status pre- and post-care
  giving role