When the caregiver needs care: the plight of vulnerable caregivers.
OBJECTIVE
This study examined the characteristics, activities, and challenges of high-risk informal caregivers.


METHODS
Telephone interviews were conducted with a nationally representative cross-section of 1002 informal caregivers. Vulnerable caregivers with poor health or a serious health condition were compared with nonvulnerable caregivers.


RESULTS
Thirty-six percent of caregivers were vulnerable. Compared with nonvulnerable caregivers, vulnerable caregivers were more likely to have difficulty providing care, to provide higher-intensity care, to report that their physical health had suffered since becoming a caregiver, to be aged 65 years or older, to be married, and to have less than 12 years of education.


CONCLUSIONS
Reliance on informal caregivers without considering the caregiver's ability to provide care can create a stressful and potentially unsafe environment for the caregiver and the care recipient.
Navaie-Waliser
Maryam
M
Center for Home Care Policy and Research, Visiting Nurse Service of New York, 5 Penn Plaza, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10001, USA. maryam.navaie@vnsny.org
Feldman
Penny H
PH
Gould
David A
DA
Levine
Carol
C
Kuerbis
Alexis N
AN
Donelan
Karen
K
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006701:Home Nursing; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D017533:Marital Status; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D020380:Needs Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D013689:Telephone; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D000078329:Workforce