Conceptualizing Stress, Coping, and Illness Management in Heart Disease Caregiving

SUMMARYThe issue of caregiver strain is important to all health providers because much of the aid and assistance received by patients is provided by family caregivers and this is strenuous, demanding work. Further, failure to provide adequate care can affect the patient’s health and survival. This work presents a model for identifying the nature, components, and mediators of family caregiving strain. The model is based on the premise that adverse caregiving effects are modifiable, a contention supported by gerontological and health literature. The multifaceted model, formulated from a study of recovering heart attack patients, is applicable to both terminal and chronic illness family caregiving and can be used by hospice providers.