Back to Annual Meeting

Back to Annual Meeting

APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Caryn Etkin, PhD, MPH¹, Thomas Prohaska, PhD¹, Perry Edelman, PhD², and David Lindeman, PhD². (1) Center for Research on Health and Aging, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1747 W. Roosevelt Rd., M/C 275, Chicago, IL 60608, 312-413-9833, cetkin1@uic.edu, (2) Mather LifeWays Institute on Aging, 1603 Orrington Ave., Suite 1800, Evanston, IL 60201

Purpose: We describe the results of a study of the antecedents of exercise among a sample of informal caregivers for older adults. Specifically, the effects of the caregiving role, mental health, and attitudes and intentions related to exercise on caregiver exercise behavior were analyzed. Design and Methods: A total of 208 caregivers participating in a six-week self-care intervention to promote caregiving skills and reduce perceived burden were surveyed at baseline, immediately post training (6 weeks) and 6 months post-training. Measures included caregiver characteristics, care recipient characteristics, attitudes and perceptions of exercise and levels of physical activity. Results: Caregivers were predominantly white, married females with a mean age of 61, and providing care to a parent/in-law. Mental health variables and self-efficacy for exercise were consistently and significantly related to baseline exercise levels at the bivariate level. Multivariate regression analyses on baseline data revealed that caregiving situation was associated with self-reported exercise and attitudes and intentions related to exercise and that caregiver mental health was significantly associated with exercise at baseline. GEE analyses concluded that self-efficacy for exercise was the only significant factor significantly associated with change in exercise and mental health outcomes over six months. Conclusions: Overall vitality of caregivers and self-efficacy for exercise were key variables that were most significantly related to exercise behaviors. Findings suggest that mental health factors and attitudes about exercise may possibly be more important predictors of exercise than caregiving factors.

Learning Objectives:

• Examine the (a) exercise practices and (b) attitudes and intentions related to exercise among a sample of caregivers
• Determine which factors are associated with caregiver exercise behaviors at baseline
• Determine which factors are associated with changes in caregiver exercise levels over time
• Examine the association between changes in caregiver exercise levels and changes in caregiver mental health

Keywords: Caregivers, Exercise

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No