Community elder-care in Tasmania: examining whether caregivers believe they "make-a-difference" in an urban and rural island.
Adult caregivers (n = 184;Mage = 43.9 years old) working at a non-profit, eldercare program at five geographically diverse sites located in the self-contained, island state of Tasmania, Australia, completed a set of self-report measures. Results across the five sites indicated that respondents experienced a relatively strong sense of self-efficacy toward making a difference in their local community. However, there were significant differences (controlling for social desirability) when comparing caregivers from rural northern (n = 45) with urban southern (n = 139) communities, with rural caregivers claiming stronger sense of common mission with others, reciprocal responsibility to help others, and caregiver satisfaction, plus lower disharmony with other members and caregiver stress in helping the elderly than urban caregivers. Implications suggest that community self-efficacy may be high among eldercare staff, but their sense of community and caregiving perceptions may reflect geographic differences, especially in Tasmania.
Ferrari
Joseph R
JR
Department of Psychology, DePaul University, 2219 North Kenmore Avenue, Chicago, IL 60614, USA. jferrari@depaul.edu
Kapoor
Monica
M
Bristow
Maya J
MJ
Bowman
H Woods
HW
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D003153:Community Health Services; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006299:Health Services for the Aged; D006699:Home Care Services; D006707:Homes for the Aged; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011593:Psychology, Social / Q000295:instrumentation; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000295:instrumentation; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012424:Rural Population; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012647:Self-Assessment; D012941:Social Responsibility; D012944:Social Support; D013648:Tasmania; D014505:Urban Population; D000078329:Workforce