Caregiving burdens of task time and task difficulty among paid and unpaid caregivers of persons living with dementia
BackgroundDemands of caregivers of persons living with dementia (PLWD) are often influenced by the context of their caregiving situation. This study examines common and unique factors associated with caregiving burden in terms of task time and task difficulty among paid and unpaid caregivers of PLWD...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Public Health |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1615187/full |
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| author | Matthew Lee Smith Matthew Lee Smith Jodi L. Southerland Malinee Neelamegam Gang Han Gang Han Shinduk Lee Shinduk Lee Chung Lin Kew Juanita-Dawne R. Bacsu Elyse Couch Steffi M. Kim Monique J. Brown Ayse Malatyali Lucas Wilson Zahra Rahemi Jeremy Holloway Marcia G. Ory Marcia G. Ory |
| author_facet | Matthew Lee Smith Matthew Lee Smith Jodi L. Southerland Malinee Neelamegam Gang Han Gang Han Shinduk Lee Shinduk Lee Chung Lin Kew Juanita-Dawne R. Bacsu Elyse Couch Steffi M. Kim Monique J. Brown Ayse Malatyali Lucas Wilson Zahra Rahemi Jeremy Holloway Marcia G. Ory Marcia G. Ory |
| author_sort | Matthew Lee Smith |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | BackgroundDemands of caregivers of persons living with dementia (PLWD) are often influenced by the context of their caregiving situation. This study examines common and unique factors associated with caregiving burden in terms of task time and task difficulty among paid and unpaid caregivers of PLWD.MethodsCross-sectional baseline survey data were analyzed from 107 paid and unpaid caregivers of PLWD participating in a larger NIH-funded study assessing the feasibility of using a novel in-situ sensor system. Oberst Caregiving Burden Scale constructs of task time and task difficulty served as dependent variables. Two least squares regression models were fitted, controlling for contextual items related to the caregiver, care recipient, and caregiving logistics.ResultsCaregivers whose care recipients were female (B = −0.29, p = 0.006), had more chronic conditions (B = 0.31, p = 0.011), and had lower Mini-Mental State Exam scores (B = −0.20, p = 0.015) reported higher task time burdens. Caregivers whose care recipients had other paid caregivers (B = 0.30, p = 0.031) and spent more months/years caring for their care recipients (B = 0.28, p = 0.004) reported higher task time burdens. Caregivers’ task time burden was positively associated with their emotional stress level (B = 0.30, p = 0.020). Caregivers’ task difficulty burden was positively associated with their emotional stress (B = 0.30, p = 0.029) and depressive symptomatology (B = 0.32, p = 0.002).DiscussionResults reinforce the relationship between caregiver burden and mental health impacts. While the care recipient’s disease profile and needs were drivers of task time burden, which may also require coordination with other paid caregivers, task difficulty was emotionally driven. Findings highlight the importance of caregiver support services and programming for mental health. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9e3429c4fc324f8ebcd3fccd5fc540c6 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2296-2565 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Public Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-9e3429c4fc324f8ebcd3fccd5fc540c62025-08-20T03:17:24ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Public Health2296-25652025-07-011310.3389/fpubh.2025.16151871615187Caregiving burdens of task time and task difficulty among paid and unpaid caregivers of persons living with dementiaMatthew Lee Smith0Matthew Lee Smith1Jodi L. Southerland2Malinee Neelamegam3Gang Han4Gang Han5Shinduk Lee6Shinduk Lee7Chung Lin Kew8Juanita-Dawne R. Bacsu9Elyse Couch10Steffi M. Kim11Monique J. Brown12Ayse Malatyali13Lucas Wilson14Zahra Rahemi15Jeremy Holloway16Marcia G. Ory17Marcia G. Ory18School of Public Health, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United StatesCenter for Community Health and Aging, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United StatesCollege of Public Health, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN, United StatesCollege of Public Health, The University of North Texas, Forth Worth, TX, United StatesSchool of Public Health, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United StatesCenter for Community Health and Aging, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United StatesCenter for Community Health and Aging, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United StatesCollege of Nursing, The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United StatesSchool of Public Health, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United StatesSchool of Nursing, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, BC, CanadaSchool of Public Health, Brown University, Providence, RI, United StatesDepartment of Psychology, University of Anchorage, Anchorage, AK, United StatesArnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, United States0College of Nursing, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, United StatesSchool of Public Health, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United States1School of Nursing, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, United States2School of Education, New Mexico Highlands University, Las Vegas, NM, United StatesSchool of Public Health, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United StatesCenter for Community Health and Aging, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United StatesBackgroundDemands of caregivers of persons living with dementia (PLWD) are often influenced by the context of their caregiving situation. This study examines common and unique factors associated with caregiving burden in terms of task time and task difficulty among paid and unpaid caregivers of PLWD.MethodsCross-sectional baseline survey data were analyzed from 107 paid and unpaid caregivers of PLWD participating in a larger NIH-funded study assessing the feasibility of using a novel in-situ sensor system. Oberst Caregiving Burden Scale constructs of task time and task difficulty served as dependent variables. Two least squares regression models were fitted, controlling for contextual items related to the caregiver, care recipient, and caregiving logistics.ResultsCaregivers whose care recipients were female (B = −0.29, p = 0.006), had more chronic conditions (B = 0.31, p = 0.011), and had lower Mini-Mental State Exam scores (B = −0.20, p = 0.015) reported higher task time burdens. Caregivers whose care recipients had other paid caregivers (B = 0.30, p = 0.031) and spent more months/years caring for their care recipients (B = 0.28, p = 0.004) reported higher task time burdens. Caregivers’ task time burden was positively associated with their emotional stress level (B = 0.30, p = 0.020). Caregivers’ task difficulty burden was positively associated with their emotional stress (B = 0.30, p = 0.029) and depressive symptomatology (B = 0.32, p = 0.002).DiscussionResults reinforce the relationship between caregiver burden and mental health impacts. While the care recipient’s disease profile and needs were drivers of task time burden, which may also require coordination with other paid caregivers, task difficulty was emotionally driven. Findings highlight the importance of caregiver support services and programming for mental health.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1615187/fullunpaid caregiverpaid caregiverstrainmental healthcaregiver burdendementia |
| spellingShingle | Matthew Lee Smith Matthew Lee Smith Jodi L. Southerland Malinee Neelamegam Gang Han Gang Han Shinduk Lee Shinduk Lee Chung Lin Kew Juanita-Dawne R. Bacsu Elyse Couch Steffi M. Kim Monique J. Brown Ayse Malatyali Lucas Wilson Zahra Rahemi Jeremy Holloway Marcia G. Ory Marcia G. Ory Caregiving burdens of task time and task difficulty among paid and unpaid caregivers of persons living with dementia Frontiers in Public Health unpaid caregiver paid caregiver strain mental health caregiver burden dementia |
| title | Caregiving burdens of task time and task difficulty among paid and unpaid caregivers of persons living with dementia |
| title_full | Caregiving burdens of task time and task difficulty among paid and unpaid caregivers of persons living with dementia |
| title_fullStr | Caregiving burdens of task time and task difficulty among paid and unpaid caregivers of persons living with dementia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Caregiving burdens of task time and task difficulty among paid and unpaid caregivers of persons living with dementia |
| title_short | Caregiving burdens of task time and task difficulty among paid and unpaid caregivers of persons living with dementia |
| title_sort | caregiving burdens of task time and task difficulty among paid and unpaid caregivers of persons living with dementia |
| topic | unpaid caregiver paid caregiver strain mental health caregiver burden dementia |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1615187/full |
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