Do caregivers benefit more from educational and volunteer activities than their noncaregiving peers?
Informal caregivers are a critical component of the US long-term care system, but caregivers often experience poor physical and mental health as a result of strain from the caregiving role. Engagement in community-based educational and volunteer activities contributes to older adult well-being, but previous studies have not assessed whether the effects of these types of engagement are different for older adults who are also caregivers. Using a sample of participants in educational and volunteer activities sponsored by a national nonprofit organization, we find that participants who are caregivers report more benefit from these community-based activities than their noncaregiving counterparts. Connecting caregivers to existing community-based activities may be an efficient strategy for improving caregiver well-being.
George Warren Brown School of Social Work, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA. jcgreenfield@wustl.edu
Jennifer C
JC
Greenfield
Nancy
N
Morrow-Howell
James
J
Teufel
D000368:Aged; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D003625:Data Collection; D004493:Education / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005260:Female; D006299:Health Services for the Aged; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008134:Long-Term Care / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012946:Social Welfare; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology; D014838:Volunteers / Q000458:organization & administration*