Certified Nursing Assistants Balancing Family Caregiving Roles: Health Care Utilization Among Double- and Triple-Duty Caregivers
Year: 2015
Type: article
Abstract: PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: This study examines how certified nursing assistants (CNAs) balancing family caregiving roles-child care (double-duty child caregivers), elder care (double-duty elder caregivers), and both child and elder care (triple-duty caregivers)-utilize health care services relative to nonfamily caregiving counterparts (formal-only caregivers). DESIGN AND METHODS: A sample of 884 CNAs from the Work, Family and Health Study was drawn on to assess the number of acute care (i.e., emergency room or urgent care facility) and other health care (i.e., outpatient treatment or counseling) visits made during the past 6 months. RESULTS: Double-duty elder and triple-duty caregivers had higher acute care utilization rates than formal-only caregivers. CNAs with and without family caregiving roles had similar rates of other health care visits. IMPLICATIONS: CNAs providing informal care for older adults have higher acute care visit rates. Given the increasing need for family caregivers and the vital importance of the health of the nursing workforce for the health of others, future research on how double- and triple-duty caregivers maintain their health amidst constant caregiving should be a priority.
Source: The Gerontologist
Institutions: Pennsylvania State University, Harvard University
Language: English
Topic: Nursing care and research
Subfield: Pharmacy
Field: Health Professions
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Funders: Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, William T. Grant Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Administration for Children and Families, National Institute on Aging, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Awards: G1101512602, G1738274849, Archiving the occupational cohorts in the Work, Family, and Health Network, Evaluating the Health Benefits of Workplace Policies and Practices - Phase II, G3239832934, G3518817918, G3803391919, Center for Clinical and Translational Science and Training, Flexible Work and Well-Being Center at the University of Minnesota, G6294101079, RU: Daily Diary Evaluation of the Health Benefits of a Workplace Intervention, A Translational Coordinating Center for the Work, Family and Health Network, G7510089256, Center for Work-Family Stress, Safety & Health: Portland State University RU, Data Coordinating Center for the Work, Family and Health Network, Cincinnati Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences and Training, G903329465
OpenAlex ID: W2265955378