O2‐01‐08: Bereavement after the death of family member suffering from Alzheimer's disease: Ethnic variation among family caregivers
Year: 2010
Type: article
Abstract: Large, representative surveys that focus on the health and well being of the caregiver for an Alzheimer's suffer are rare. Even less is known about the bereavement or grieving process of the caregiver once the family member dies. The Resources for Enhancing Alzheimer's Caregiver Health (REACH) project represents one of the best examples of studies that systematically examine the lives of Alzheimer's caregivers and it remains underutilized due to its rich detail and multiple collection strategies. This paper used the Bereavement Component of REACH II, collected between 2001 and 2004. REACH II is unique as it tests a comprehensive caregiver intervention among three distinct racial/ethnic groups: Hispanics, African-Americans, and White. The study looks specifically at five areas of risk--depression, burden, self-care, social support, and patient problem behaviors--that are central to caregiver well-being and quality of life. We use this study to examine perform a detailed examination of ethnic variation in the bereavement process while controlling for other key socioeconomic factors. Clear variation is seen by ethnic groups in the bereavement response to the death of family member due to Alzheimer's or its complications. Moderating factors such as relationship to the Alzheimer's sufferer, the emotional and physical health of the caregiver and their sociodemographic characteristics moderated this effect to some degree but significant differences in the bereavement process remained among the ethnic populations examined. The Resources for Enhancing Alzheimer's Caregiver Health (REACH) project offers unique insights into the challenges and responses caregivers face and make while caring for a family members suffering from Alzheimer's. Bereavement Component of REACH II allows us to see how caregivers respond when this burden is removed due to the family member. The ability to examine this process in relation to ethic variation adds additional insights. Future work will compare these findings to other studies of bereavement such as the Changing Lives of Older Couples (CLOC) study to examine how the death in the context of Alzheimer's caregiving may differ from other forms of bereavement.
Source: Alzheimer s & Dementia
Authors: James W. McNally, Martha I. Sayre
Institution: University of Michigan
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2049289672