Recorded presentation

Alyson A. Falwell, MPH, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Department of Health Services, Universtity of Washington, Box 357660, Seattle, WA 98195, (206) 860-6932, afalwell@u.washington.edu, Peter P. Vitaliano, PhD, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Box 356560, Seattle, WA 98195-6560, Jack Thompson, MSW, Northwest Center for Public Health Practice, University of Washington, 1107 NE 45th Street, Suite 400, Seattle, WA 98105, and Heather M. Young, PhD, GNP, FAAN, School of Nursing, Oregon Health Sciences University, 1250 Siskiyou Blvd, Ashland, OR 97520.

The aging of the US population will present unique problems for the health services delivery system. In 2000, there were an estimated 4.5 million Americans with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), but the prevalence of AD is expected to increase by 70% by 2030. Spouses, family members and other informal caregivers provide the majority of care to persons suffering from AD. The demand for informal caregivers is expected to increase due to a decreasing working-age population, a critical shortage of medical providers, and the breakdown of traditional family roles. As such, more family members will experience caregiver burdens, and may be at increased risk for illnesses. Extensive research has shown that caregivers are at increased risk for physical and psychiatric illnesses relative to non-caregivers. Research has also shown that psychiatric morbidity is associated with increases in health service utilization. However, a recent meta-analysis of 23 studies assessed health services utilization in 11 samples (n =1002) and found that in cross-sectional analyses, caregivers did not utilize services more than non-caregivers. This study will compare spouse caregivers of persons with AD to demographically-similar non-caregiver spouses (mean age =71.4 years) in western Washington state in order to address the following questions: 1. When followed across time is service utilization different in caregivers relative to non-caregivers? 2. If so, are such differences explained by psychosocial factors? A better understanding of health service utilization among caregivers should have implications for resource allocation, patient education, and mental health screening in this population.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe patterns of health services utilization among the elderly caregivers and non-caregivers in western Washington state.
• Identify one important factor associated with the utilization of health services for older adults.
• State why it is important to understand how caregivers use health services.

Keywords: Health Care Utilization, Caregivers

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

Recorded presentation