Identifying the Responsibilities & Needs of WORKING ADULTS WHO ARE PRIMARYCAREGIVERS

This descriptive study identified responsibilities and needs of working caregivers of older persons. A 30-item questionnaire was completed by 760 caregivers employed at a large midwestern university. Subjects had a mean age of 52, were female [66%), married [75%), and had children under the age of 18 (36%). Caregiving activities included completing household chores (61%) and personal care (18%), managing finances (40%), providing financial support (26%) and transportation (62%), and companionship (83%). Caregiving responsibilities interfered with activities related to family (56%), work (39%), leisure activities (52%), and rest [57%). Subjects experienced a variety of health problems, including headaches (32%), nervousness (29%), insomnia (29%), weight gain or loss (26%), and unusual drowsiness (22%). Forty-eight percent of subjects missed an average of 4 days of work over a 6-month period due to caregiving activities. The top ten educational needs of the subjects were information regarding community resources (80%), mental incapacities of older persons (79%), and stress management for caregivers [77%). Seventy-six percent of the sample wanted information about normal aging processes. Seventy percent of Hie subjects wanted information about physical care, home care, communication, and community resources. Subjects needed information regarding communication with physicians (69%), housing options (58%), and nursing homes [65%). Hie data stress the need for health care professionals to become more involved with program development, implementation, and evaluation of caregivers of older persons.