Self-reported physical and mental health of Australian carers: a cross-sectional study.
To report on self-reported physical and mental health of informal carers in rural regions of New South Wales, Australia.



A cross-sectional community-based sample (n=222) of carers completed a questionnaire incorporating self-reported measures of health from validated international instruments including Medical Outcomes Study Scale (SF-36), the Centre for Epidemiology-Depression (CES-D) and Kessler-10 (K-10) Psychological Distress Scales, along with information on participant demographics and other key caregiving characteristics such as health condition of care recipient.



Rural carers' self-reported health was poor as evident on the SF-36 Physical and Mental Health component scores as well as each individual domain of the SF-36. Results from the CES-D and K-10 scores indicated very high rates of depressive symptoms and psychological distress. Over 70% of carers within the current study had CES-D scores indicative of depressive symptoms. Scores on the K-10 indicate almost half the carers were experiencing high levels of psychological distress, which is over 4 times the rate reported in the general Australian population.



Results from this study were compared to Australian population normative data and were found to be significantly below Australian age-matched population norms for SF-36, CES-D and K-10. These findings illustrate the poor health profile of informal carers relative to the general Australian population, especially in terms of depressive symptoms and psychological distress. This highlights the need for additional support for rural carers in order to ease the accumulated mental and physical health burdens of this group.
ANU School of Medicine & Research School of Population Health, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
Rafat
R
Hussain
School of Rural Medicine, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia.
Stuart
0000-0002-5366-1860
S
Wark
School of Rural Medicine, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia.
Gina
G
Dillon
School of Rural Medicine, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia.
Peta
P
Ryan
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D009517:New South Wales / Q000453:epidemiology; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012424:Rural Population; D057566:Self Report; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology*; D055815:Young Adult
MENTAL HEALTH; Physical Health; carer; rural