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The Elderly as Family Caregivers1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2010

Lotte Marcus  and
Valerie Jaeger
Lotte Marcus
Affiliation:
McGill University
Valerie Jaeger
Affiliation:
McGill University
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Abstract

The experiences of elderly persons caring for elderly family members at home were examined by means of in-depth interviews with fourty-seven subjects in Montreal and seven in England. The analysis of the Montreal sample revealed that denial of fears and unwillingness to think about the future, as well as negative assessments of cared-for-person's health were more prevalent in women than in men. Women also mentioned more frequently that religious beliefs influenced their caregiving and seemed to feel more strongly the impact and burden caregiving placed on them. Experiences with old people in earlier life was associated with low burden scores; few visitors and a belief that cared-for-person was critical of them were associated with high burden scores. Suggestions for further research and recommendations for supportive services to caregivers are made.

Résumé

Les expériences de personnes âgées qui, à la maison, doivent prendre soin d'autres membres âgés de la famille ont été examinées au moyen d'entrevues en profondeur avec 47 sujets à Montréal et 7 en Angleterre. L'analyse de l'échantillon montréalais a révélé que les femmes sont plus portées que les hommes à nier la peur, à ne pas vouloir envisager l'avenir, et à évaluer négativement l'état de santé de la personne sous leurs soins. Les femmes ont aussi mentionné plus fréquemment que leurs croyances religieuses influencent leur façon de prodiguer les soins et elles semblent ressentir plus intensément l'impact et le poids de la tâche. Alors que le contact antérieur avec des personnes âgées est associé à des scores bas concernant la lourdeur de la tâche, la rareté des visites et le sentiment d'être critiqué par la personne soignée le sont à des scores élevés. On fait des suggestions de recherche et on recommande des services de soutien à l'intention des préposés aux soins.

Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 3 , Issue 1 , March 1984 , pp. 33 - 44
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 1984

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References

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