"You don't want to burden them": older adults' views on family involvement in care.
Burden emerged as an important concept among older adults in a study of how older adults interact with their families around care. The authors conducted 50 semistructured interviews with adults older than the age of 65 years and a spouse or adult child. The sample was stratified by ethnicity thus giving the opportunity to explore both ethnic similarities and differences. Older adults who expressed the concept of burden were more likely to be White compared with older adults who did not express burden. Older respondents discussed burden in relation to not wanting to complicate the busy lives of adult children, guilt about health problems, and concern that children were overly worried about the care of their older family member. The expression and meaning of burden differed according to ethnicity. This study has implications for practice and policies to meet the needs of families and promote the independence of older persons.
Cahill
Eileen
E
Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Pennsylvania, PA 19104, USA.
Lewis
Lisa M
LM
Barg
Frances K
FK
Bogner
Hillary R
HR
D032721:Adult Children; D001741:Black or African American; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D017028:Caregivers; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000451:nursing; D017281:Cost of Illness; D005195:Family Relations / Q000208:ethnology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008396:Maryland; D044465:White People