| dc.description.abstract | Adverse mental and physical health outcomes in caregivers of persons with dementia are
well documented, particularly for spouse caregivers. However, geographical setting may
affect the caregiving experience. The main objective of this study was to investigate
potential differences between rural and urban spouse caregivers in the health impact of
caregiving, as well as identifying correlates of health status, health behaviors, and sleep
disruptions. A sample of 33 spouse caregivers for persons with dementia in
Northwestern Ontario was recruited, including 26 from an urban setting (population
109,000), and 7 from rural settings (populations < 9,000). Rural caregivers rated the
amount of information about how to access support services significantly poorer than did
urban caregivers (t(31) = 16.76, < .001). No other statistically significant differences
were found across residential settings in terms of caregiver health or health behaviors.
However, different correlates of health status and health behaviors emerged for the two
settings. For rural caregivers, lower levels of physical health were associated with higher
levels of depressive symptoms ( r(5) = -.938, p = .002), higher levels of role burden
( r(5) = -.938, p = .002), and poorer care recipient functioning in basic activities of daily
living ( r(5) = .895,p = .007). These associations were not significant for urban
caregivers. It was also hypothesized that healthy behaviors would be positively
associated with health status, but this hypothesis was not supported. Sleep disruptions
and depressive symptoms were reported by both groups. Results suggest that the impact
of caregiving may be different for rural and urban spouse caregivers. More research is
needed, with larger and more representative samples, to further investigate these potential
rural-urban differences. | |
