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Miller KEM, Lindquist JH, Olsen MK, et al. Invisible partners in care: Snapshot of well-being among caregivers receiving comprehensive support from Veterans Affairs. Health Sci Rep. 2019;2(3):e112doi: 10.1002/hsr2.112.
Miller, K. E. M., Lindquist, J. H., Olsen, M. K., Smith, V., Voils, C. I., Oddone, E. Z., Sperber, N. R., Shepherd-Banigan, M., Wieland, G. D., Henius, J., Kabat, M., & Van Houtven, C. H. (2019). Invisible partners in care: Snapshot of well-being among caregivers receiving comprehensive support from Veterans Affairs. Health science reports, 2(3), e112. https://doi.org/10.1002/hsr2.112
Miller, Katherine E M, et al. "Invisible partners in care: Snapshot of well-being among caregivers receiving comprehensive support from Veterans Affairs." Health science reports vol. 2,3 (2019): e112. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/hsr2.112
Miller KEM, Lindquist JH, Olsen MK, Smith V, Voils CI, Oddone EZ, Sperber NR, Shepherd-Banigan M, Wieland GD, Henius J, Kabat M, Van Houtven CH. Invisible partners in care: Snapshot of well-being among caregivers receiving comprehensive support from Veterans Affairs. Health Sci Rep. 2019 Jan 31;2(3):e112. doi: 10.1002/hsr2.112. eCollection 2019 Mar. PMID: 30937391; PMCID: PMC6427058.
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Health Sci Rep. 2019 Jan 31;2(3):e112. doi: 10.1002/hsr2.112. eCollection 2019 Mar.

Invisible partners in care: Snapshot of well-being among caregivers receiving comprehensive support from Veterans Affairs.

Health science reports

Katherine E M Miller, Jennifer H Lindquist, Maren K Olsen, Valerie Smith, Corrine I Voils, Eugene Z Oddone, Nina R Sperber, Megan Shepherd-Banigan, G Darryl Wieland, Jennifer Henius, Margaret Kabat, Courtney Harold Van Houtven

Affiliations

  1. Health Services Research and Development Service Durham VA Medical Center Durham North Carolina USA.
  2. Department of Health Policy and Management University of North Carolina Chapel Hill North Carolina USA.
  3. Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Duke University Durham North Carolina USA.
  4. Department of Population Health Sciences Duke University Durham North Carolina USA.
  5. Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine Duke University Durham North Carolina USA.
  6. Research Service William S. Middleton Veterans Memorial Hospital Madison Wisconsin USA.
  7. Department of Surgery University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison Wisconsin USA.
  8. Caregiver Support Program Department of Veterans Affairs Washington DC USA.

PMID: 30937391 PMCID: PMC6427058 DOI: 10.1002/hsr2.112

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Since May 2011, over 23 000 caregivers of Veterans seriously injured on or after September 11, 2001 have enrolled in the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC). PCAFC provides caregivers training, a stipend, and access to health care. The aim of this study is to describe the characteristics of caregivers in PCAFC and examine associations between caregiver characteristics and caregiver well-being outcomes.

METHODS: We sent a web survey invitation to 10 000 PCAFC caregivers enrolled as of September 2015. Using linear and logistic regressions, we examine associations between PCAFC caregiver characteristics and caregiver outcomes: perceived financial strain, depressive symptoms (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale [CESD-10]), perceived quality of Veteran's Veterans Health Administration (VHA) care, and self-reported caregiver health.

RESULTS: We had complete survey data for 899 respondents. Since becoming a caregiver, approximately 50% of respondents reported reducing or stopping work. Mean time spent providing care was 3.8 years (median 3, IQR 1-5) with an average of 4.9 weekdays (median 5, IQR 5-5) and 1.9 weekend days (median 2, IQR 2-2). The mean CESD-10 score was 8.2 (median 7, 4-12), at the cutoff for screening positive for depressive symptoms. A longer duration of caregiving was associated with having 0.08 increase in rating of financial strain (95% CI, 0.02-0.14). Caregiver rating of the Veteran's health status as "fair" or better was a strong predictor of better caregiver outcomes, ie, self-reported caregiver health. However, higher levels of education were associated with worse caregiver outcomes, ie, lower global satisfaction with VHA care, higher CESD-10 score, and higher rating of financial strain.

CONCLUSIONS: Higher depressive symptoms among longer duration caregivers, coupled with high rates of reductions in hours worked, suggest interventions are needed to address the long-term emotional and financial needs of these caregivers of post-9/11 Veterans and identify subpopulations at risk for worse outcomes.

Keywords: Veterans; caregiving; depression; informal carers; long‐term care; post‐9/11 Veterans; quality‐of‐life

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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