CAREGIVERS FACE DEPRESSION RISK
By Nancy Ceridwyn, Manager of Special Programs,
American Society On Aging
Rushing to the checkout counter, Anna hopes to finish the quick stop at the grocery store before her mother wakes from a nap. Anna, aged 60, used to consider herself to be in good health until four years ago when she began caring for her 87 year old mother who has dementia. Now she spends 81 hours per week taking care of all aspects of her mother’s life. She wishes for more help from family and friends.
In a 1997 study, the Family Caregiver Alliance (FCA) found 75 percent of those surveyed cared for an older adult and 58 percent of those caregivers showed clinically significant depressive symptoms. The majority of caregivers who assisted with at least two personal care activities and performed at least 40 hours of care per week were 65 years old or older.
Caregiving can be rewarding and enriching, but many studies of people caring for older relatives show this as a time of increased anxiety and difficulty. Caregivers face a number of challenges. Many patients cannot leave familiar surroundings because of their dependence on personal health care supplies. In the FCA study, 70 percent of people who care for someone who is suffering from dementia said the patient could not be left alone. The responsibility of around-the-clock monitoring usually falls on a caregiver who may leave the home only for essential activities. This isolation and loss of control can be very stressful to caregivers and undermine their ability to cope.
The average length of caregiving for an older person is four and a half years with the intensity of care building over the course of an illness. As with many older people experiencing depression, caregiving stress can result in increased health worries. Caregivers may experience mood swings or feel anxiety, anger, agitation, indecision, apathy, guilt, fatigue, worthlessness or hopelessness. Caregiver stress may result in alcohol or drug abuse, neglect of personal hygiene or a marked decrease in performance of duties.
Reaching Out To Older Caregivers
With 15 to 20 percent of the families in the U.S. caring for an older relative, groups and professionals focused on aging have actively tried to reach this often hidden population in their communities. However, the effects of extended caregiving have been brought to light only in the past few years, and exhausted caregivers may be the last ones to ask for help. Family and community members may provide a more effective assessment of difficult situations, while education and training help increase awareness.
Organizations and individuals who want to reach this population should:
- Build awareness of caregiving-related depression through collaborations with local caregiving organizations;
- Work with elder abuse prevention programs to promote understanding of the stress and depression found in many abusers;
- Collaborate with health care providers to identify high levels of illness among caregivers that may be symptoms of depression; and
- Talk about caregiving issues on television, encourage newspapers to run related articles or develop newsletters based on referrals from neighbors and community members.
Losses in later life, such as changes in health status or relocation of loved ones may trigger clinical depression in older adults. Some facts about depression and older adults:
- Late-life depression affects around 6 million adults, but only 10 percent ever get treatment.
- Depression is not a normal part of aging, but 58 percent of older adults think it is.
- Depressive symptoms occur in approximately 15 percent of community residents over 65 years of age. Rates of depression in nursing homes are up to 25 percent in some areas.
- The suicide rate for older adults is more than 50 percent higher than the rate for the nation as a whole. Up to two-thirds are attributed to untreated or misdiagnosed depression.
| Reprinted by kind permission of
The Bell, October 1998 National Mental Health Association USA |
For contact information on
American Society On Aging please refer to Sources of Information on p. 62 |