Current Topics in Care Impact of Noncaregiving-Related Stressors on Informal Caregiver Outcomes

Background: Caregivers of persons with dementia are stressed. Stressors not related to care recipients ’ needs impact caregiver outcomes, yet are seldom reported. The purpose of this study was to report the most stressful events experienced by spouse caregivers of older adults with Alzheimer s disease during a 6-month period.Methods: 31 caregivers completed the Most Stressful Event form, Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and the Revised Memory Behavioral Problem Checklist (R-MBPC). Fisher’s exact test and two-sample t-test were used to compare Most Stressful Events between caregivers. ANOVA model tested whether the PHQ-9 and R-MBPC subscales differed by stressor.Results:Caregivers reported no stressors 21.5 % of the time, 1-2 stressors 25% of the time, and 3 stressors 53 % of the time with 318 stressors reported in total. Care recipient needs (30.2%), caregiver needs (26.7%), and decision-making (16.7%) were the most frequently reported stressors. Using a mixed effects model, there were associations between the Most Stressful Events and depression (p 0.016), mobility (p 0.024) and caregiver issues (p 0.009) subscales of R-MBPC. Conclusion: Results can be used to develop targeted intervention and support strategies for spouse caregivers experiencing non-caregiving related stressorsas well as the traditional challenges with caregiving related issues