Do Caregivers Benefit More From Educational and Volunteer Activities Than Their Noncaregiving Peers?

摘要

Informal caregivers are a critical component of the US long-term care system, but caregivers often experience poor physical and mental health as a result of strain from the caregiving role. Engagement in community-based educational and volunteer activities contributes to older adult well-being, but previous studies have not assessed whether the effects of these types of engagement are different for older adults who are also caregivers. Using a sample of participants in educational and volunteer activities sponsored by a national nonprofit organization, we find that participants who are caregivers report more benefit from these community-based activities than their noncaregiving counterparts. Connecting caregivers to existing community-based activities may be an efficient strategy for improving caregiver well-being.View full textDownload full textKeywordscaregiving, long-term care, volunteering, productive activity, well-beingRelated var addthis_config = { ui_cobrand: "Taylor & Francis Online", services_compact: "citeulike,netvibes,twitter,technorati,delicious,linkedin,facebook,stumbleupon,digg,google,more", pubid: "ra-4dff56cd6bb1830b" }; Add to shortlist Link Permalink http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01634372.2012.718314