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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Jeremy Boal, MD and Katherine Ornstein, MPH. Visiting Doctors Program, Mount Sinai Hospital, Box 1216, New York, NY 10029, 212-241-4141, jeremy.boal@mssm.edu
While adverse effects on caregivers are well documented in certain populations, such as patients with cancer and Alzheimer's disease, the challenges associated with caring for frail homebound persons are not well known. Recent U.S. Census data suggest that the number of homebound persons will increase from two to three million persons by 2020. Informal caregivers play a critical role in helping to maintain homebound persons in the community. Family members and friends may undertake this challenging role with little resources, skills, or support, and, consequently, may experience physical, psychological, social and financial burdens. Their needs must be understood so that interventions benefiting them can be appropriately targeted. Our aim was to assess the challenges faced by caregivers of homebound persons. The Mount Sinai Visiting Doctors program delivers primary medical care to 600 homebound patients per year in Manhattan. 160 patient caregivers were surveyed in person or via telephone using a burden assessment scale, level of care index, and unmet needs scale. A preliminary analysis of data collected identified significant burden associated with providing care to homebound persons. For example, 40% spend more than 40 hours per week providing care and 51% felt emotionally drained due to caregiving. One-third of those surveyed needed help meeting financial expenses related to caring for patients. Our findings suggest informal caregivers of homebound persons suffer from a high degree of burden across a number of important domains. Insight into these stressors should form the basis for specific interventions designed to positively impact on these areas.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Caregivers, Home Care
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: I am the director of the Mount Sinai Visiting Doctors program where the research was conducted.