Lack of choice in caregiving decision and caregiver risk of stress, North Carolina, 2005.
BACKGROUND
An aspect of caregiving that has received little attention is the degree to which the choice to provide care affects a caregiver's emotional well-being. We compared a population-based sample of informal caregivers who reported having a choice in caring with caregivers who did not have a choice in caring to determine the extent to which choice affects caregivers' self-reported stress.


METHODS
We identified 341 informal caregivers who completed a caregiving module appended to the 2005 North Carolina Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey. We determined participants' self-reported stress by using a 5-point scale that was dichotomized and used adjusted binomial logistic regression to assess the risk of stress given lack of choice in caregiving.


RESULTS
In the fully adjusted model, caregivers without a choice in caring were more than 3 times as likely to report stress as caregivers with a choice in caring. High level of burden also increased stress. Caregivers with no choice in caring were most commonly the primary caregiver of a parent.


CONCLUSIONS
Caregivers who do not have a choice in caregiving were at increased risk of stress, which may predispose them to poor health outcomes. Further investigation is needed to determine whether interventions that target caregivers without a choice in caring can reduce their levels of stress.
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, College of Public Health and Health Professions, University of Florida, PO Box 100231, Gainesville, FL 32610-0231, USA.edefries@phhp.ufl.edu
Katherine H
KH
Winter
Erin D
ED
Bouldin
Elena M
EM
Andresen
D000368:Aged; D017028:Caregivers; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009657:North Carolina; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012307:Risk Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological