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Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Impact of informal care on the mental health of caregivers during the COVID-19 pandemic
AU - Fleitas Alfonzo, Ludmila
AU - Taouk, Yamna
AU - Emerson, Eric
AU - King, Tania
PY - 2023/11/29
Y1 - 2023/11/29
N2 - Background Informal care can affect the mental health of caregivers. The COVID-19 pandemic precipitated many people into informal care. Little is known about the longitudinal effect of informal care throughout the pandemic. We investigate changes in mental health in relation to changes in informal care between July 2020 and September 2021. Methods Using data from Understanding Society, we applied fixed-effects modelling to assess mental health variations associated with changes in caregiving among 13 557 participants (50 430 observations). Hours of weekly care were categorized as 0, 1–19, ≥20. Mental health was measured using the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) as a continuous score and a binary indicator. Main analyses were stratified by gender. Results Compared to when delivering 0 hours care/week, the GHQ-12 scores of women providing care for 1–19 hours/week were 0.46 points higher (95%CI: −0.11, 1.09), while their mental health scores were 0.99 higher (95%: 0.08, 1.90) when caring for ≥20 hours/week. Changes on the binary GHQ-12 measure were only evident for women when providing ≥20 hours of weekly care. These changes were not substantial among men. Conclusion Informal care adversely impacted the mental health of women carers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Support programmes for informal carers should focus on alleviating caregiving loads in women.
AB - Background Informal care can affect the mental health of caregivers. The COVID-19 pandemic precipitated many people into informal care. Little is known about the longitudinal effect of informal care throughout the pandemic. We investigate changes in mental health in relation to changes in informal care between July 2020 and September 2021. Methods Using data from Understanding Society, we applied fixed-effects modelling to assess mental health variations associated with changes in caregiving among 13 557 participants (50 430 observations). Hours of weekly care were categorized as 0, 1–19, ≥20. Mental health was measured using the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) as a continuous score and a binary indicator. Main analyses were stratified by gender. Results Compared to when delivering 0 hours care/week, the GHQ-12 scores of women providing care for 1–19 hours/week were 0.46 points higher (95%CI: −0.11, 1.09), while their mental health scores were 0.99 higher (95%: 0.08, 1.90) when caring for ≥20 hours/week. Changes on the binary GHQ-12 measure were only evident for women when providing ≥20 hours of weekly care. These changes were not substantial among men. Conclusion Informal care adversely impacted the mental health of women carers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Support programmes for informal carers should focus on alleviating caregiving loads in women.
KW - COVID-19/epidemiology
KW - Caregivers/psychology
KW - Female
KW - Humans
KW - Male
KW - Mental Health
KW - Pandemics
KW - Patient Care
U2 - 10.1093/pubmed/fdad193
DO - 10.1093/pubmed/fdad193
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 37786356
VL - 45
SP - e668-e676
JO - Journal of Public Health
JF - Journal of Public Health
SN - 1741-3842
IS - 4
ER -