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Abstract #158380

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Sheindy Pretter, PhD¹, Mathew Maurer, MD², Victoria H. Raveis, PhD¹, and Monique Carrero, MS¹. (1) Dept. of Sociomedical Sciences, Columbia University, 100 Haven Ave., Suite 6D, New York, NY 10032, 212-304-6487, sp431@columbia.edu, (2) Department of Medicine/Cardiology, Columbia University, 630 W. 168th Street, 3-342, New York, NY 10032

Caregiving spouses of older adults with cardiovascular disease experience a great deal of distress. Consequent to caring for patients with a chronic and/or potentially life-threatening illness, they are at increased risk for psychopathology and physical morbidity outcomes. Spouses may experience overwhelming emotional turmoil as they struggle to come to terms with changes in the marital relationship, including the redefinition of longstanding patterns of roles and responsibilities, and reduced quality of life. They may find it difficult to tolerate the unpredictability of the clinical course, the uncertainty of the long-term outcome of the disease, and the possibility of impending widowhood. This presentation reports results from a pilot study conducted with 23 older adult cardiac patients treated at a university medical center and their caregiving spouses (78% female; mean age=55.8 years, SD=11.1; mean length of marriage=27.6 years, SD=15.1). Spouses participated in 90-minute open ended qualitative interviews. Findings are based on content/thematic analysis of caregiver interviews and their implications for public health and clinical practice. Identified themes include: (1) the challenges of dealing with persistent and cumulative disease-related stressors, which can either bring a couple closer or strain the marital relationship; (2) the psychological and physical consequences of their caregiving burden; (3) the impact of living with cardiac disease on the couple's quality of life and aging experience, including the need to adjust to changed expectations regarding their “golden years”; (4) the factors influencing the spouses' ability to cope (e.g., competing demands, social support, coping strategies); (5) the psychological stress of potential widowhood.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the challenges confronted by older adults caring for a spouse with cardiovascular disease and the effect of these challenges on the couples’ quality of life and marital relationship.
• Assess the effect of caregiving on caregiving spouses’ psychological and physical health.
• Recognize the extent to which the illness experience influences other aspects of aging (e.g., retirement, grandparenting).
• Understand the ways in which various psychosocial factors (e.g., social support) can influence an older spouse’s ability to cope.
• Describe the implications of these findings for public health and clinical practice.

Keywords: Aging, Caregivers

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No
Any institutionally-contracted trials related to this submission?

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

• Audio (mp3) recording
• Multimedia recording