A secondary data analysis of Internet use in caregivers of persons with dementia

AIM: This paper is a secondary data analysis to investigate relationships among caregiver stress appraisal, self-rated health and health-related Internet use. DESIGN: Cross-sectional correlation design. METHODS: National Alliance for Caregiving telephone survey conducted in the USA was a primary data source collected in 2009 from 258 caregivers of persons with dementia, who used the Internet to perform care-giving tasks. Based on Pearlin's Stress Process Model, structural equation modelling was conducted. RESULTS: Caregivers with poor health reported higher levels of caregiver stress appraised, which was associated with more Internet use for health-related purposes. It is required to develop effective Internet-based resources to meet the needs of highly stressed caregivers of persons with dementia. However, there was no relationship between self-rated health and health-related Internet use in dementia caregiver.