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Caring and Health of Close Family Members of Frail Older Persons Recently Discharged from Acute Hospital Care : A Comparative Cross-Sectional Study

Bökberg, Christina LU orcid ; Lindhardt, Tove LU ; Björkman, Eva LU and Ahlström, Gerd LU orcid (2024) In Nursing Reports 14(2). p.901-912
Abstract

Multimorbidity in older people is strongly linked to the need for acute hospital care, and caregiving activities usually become more complex after patients are discharged from hospital. This may negatively impact the health of close family members, although this has not been comprehensively investigated. This study aimed to explore the general and mental health of close family members caring for frail older (>65) persons recently discharged from acute hospital care, making assessments in terms of gender, relationship to the older person, and aspects of caring. A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted involving 360 close family members caring for frail older persons recently discharged from hospital. The statistical analyses... (More)

Multimorbidity in older people is strongly linked to the need for acute hospital care, and caregiving activities usually become more complex after patients are discharged from hospital. This may negatively impact the health of close family members, although this has not been comprehensively investigated. This study aimed to explore the general and mental health of close family members caring for frail older (>65) persons recently discharged from acute hospital care, making assessments in terms of gender, relationship to the older person, and aspects of caring. A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted involving 360 close family members caring for frail older persons recently discharged from hospital. The statistical analyses included subgroup comparisons and associations to caring were examined. Half of the family members reported that their general and mental health was poor, with spouses reporting the poorest health. Female participants had significantly more severe anxiety, while males had significantly more severe depression. Providing care for more than six hours per week was associated with poor general health (OR 2.31) and depression (OR 2.59). Feelings of powerless were associated with poor general health (OR 2.63), anxiety (6.95), and depression (3.29). This knowledge may provide healthcare professionals with better tools in order to individualise support, preventing family members from exceeding their resources during these demanding periods.

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author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
mental health; general health; acute hospital care; home care; multimorbidity; older persons; family caregiver; informal caregiver
in
Nursing Reports
volume
14
issue
2
pages
901 - 912
publisher
MDPI AG
external identifiers
  • pmid:38651481
ISSN
2039-439X
DOI
10.3390/nursrep14020069
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
f5abba47-fd95-4d95-a9c9-878685a7ef67
date added to LUP
2024-04-29 15:07:22
date last changed
2024-04-30 07:04:21
@article{f5abba47-fd95-4d95-a9c9-878685a7ef67,
  abstract     = {{<p>Multimorbidity in older people is strongly linked to the need for acute hospital care, and caregiving activities usually become more complex after patients are discharged from hospital. This may negatively impact the health of close family members, although this has not been comprehensively investigated. This study aimed to explore the general and mental health of close family members caring for frail older (&gt;65) persons recently discharged from acute hospital care, making assessments in terms of gender, relationship to the older person, and aspects of caring. A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted involving 360 close family members caring for frail older persons recently discharged from hospital. The statistical analyses included subgroup comparisons and associations to caring were examined. Half of the family members reported that their general and mental health was poor, with spouses reporting the poorest health. Female participants had significantly more severe anxiety, while males had significantly more severe depression. Providing care for more than six hours per week was associated with poor general health (OR 2.31) and depression (OR 2.59). Feelings of powerless were associated with poor general health (OR 2.63), anxiety (6.95), and depression (3.29). This knowledge may provide healthcare professionals with better tools in order to individualise support, preventing family members from exceeding their resources during these demanding periods.</p>}},
  author       = {{Bökberg, Christina and Lindhardt, Tove and Björkman, Eva and Ahlström, Gerd}},
  issn         = {{2039-439X}},
  keywords     = {{mental health; general health; acute hospital care; home care; multimorbidity; older  persons; family caregiver; informal caregiver}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{04}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{901--912}},
  publisher    = {{MDPI AG}},
  series       = {{Nursing Reports}},
  title        = {{Caring and Health of Close Family Members of Frail Older Persons Recently Discharged from Acute Hospital Care : A Comparative Cross-Sectional Study}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nursrep14020069}},
  doi          = {{10.3390/nursrep14020069}},
  volume       = {{14}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}