The impact of carer status on participation in healthy activity and self‐reported health among Australian women over 50 years

Farrugia, Teagan Farrugia; Hewitt, Alana; Bourke-Taylor, Helen; Joosten, Annette

doi:10.1111/1440-1630.12491

Cited by 9 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…The other pathway that leads to chronic stress may promote carer's unhealthy behaviours such as, drug and alcohol abuse, smoking, poor nutrition, and sedentary lifestyle, that are often associated with physical and mental health problems [20]. In an Australian study of women aged 50 years or more, carers reported higher symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress than non-carers [26]. This study also, reported significantly lower participation in health promoting activities and physical activities [26].…”

Section: Carer Health Behaviour and Healthmentioning

confidence: 71%

“…In an Australian study of women aged 50 years or more, carers reported higher symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress than non-carers [26]. This study also, reported significantly lower participation in health promoting activities and physical activities [26]. Consequently, there is a need to understand the link between caregiving, carer's healthy behaviour and health.…”

Section: Carer Health Behaviour and Healthmentioning

confidence: 75%

“…Therefore, high intensity caregiving does not suit well either with full-time workforce participation or with non-workforce participation in influencing physical and mental health of carers. Farrugia et al (2018) found as well that, in Australia, women carers reported worse mental health than non-carers while they were also, more likely to be working parttime or not be working at all [26]. Thus, there is a clear need for understanding the potentially modifying or protective effects of workforce participation on carer health.…”

Section: Carer Socioeconomic Demographic Characteristics and Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A longitudinal analysis of mental and general health status of informal carers in Australia

Mohanty

Niyonsenga

2019

BMC Public Health

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Background: The study investigated the self-assessed mental and general health status of informal carers in Australia. It evaluated the influence of carer's health behaviours, namely physical activity, smoking and drinking status, along with their social connectedness and workforce engagement on their health status. Methods: The study used a retrospective longitudinal design using data from the Household Income and Labour Dynamics of Australia survey, waves 5-15 (2005-2015). It included individuals aged 15 years and older from Australian households surveyed over a period of 11 years. The sample consisted of 23,251 individuals. The outcome measures included: mental health, general health and physical functioning domains of the Short Form 36 Questionnaire, a widely used multi-dimensional measure of health-related quality of life. Using fixed effects regression and following individuals over time, the analysis took care of the issue of individuals self-selecting themselves as carers due to some predisposing factors such as age, poor health, socioeconomic status and sedentary behaviour. Results: There were statistically significant carer-noncarer status differences in mental (Beta = − 0.587, p = 0.003) and general health (Beta = − 0.670, p = 0.001) outcomes. Aging had a modifying impact on carers' mental and general health outcomes. Older carers coped better with their caregiving responsibilities than younger ones. Moreover, while physical activities had a positive influence on both mental and general health for non-carers, with more activities generating better health outcomes, it only had a modifying impact on carers' mental health. Furthermore, the study found that moderate levels of social drinking had beneficial modifying impact on carers' mental and general health. Conclusion: This study added value to the literature on informal carers' mental and general health in Australia by identifying some of the protective and risk factors. The study found the modifying effects of carers' age, health behaviours such as physical activity, smoking and drinking status on their health. Finally, the study identified an apparent beneficial link between moderate levels of social drinking and carer health that needs to be further explored with more targeted future research.

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Section: Carer Health Behaviour and Healthmentioning

confidence: 71%

Section: Carer Health Behaviour and Healthmentioning

confidence: 75%

Section: Carer Socioeconomic Demographic Characteristics and Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A longitudinal analysis of mental and general health status of informal carers in Australia

Mohanty

Niyonsenga

2019

BMC Public Health

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“…Therefore, high intensity caregiving suits well neither with full-time workforce participation nor with non-workforce participation in influencing physical and mental health of carers. Farrugia et al (2018) found as well that in Australia, women carers reported worse mental health than non-carers while they were also, more likely to be working part-time or not be working at all 25 . Thus, there is a clear need for understanding the potentially modifying or protective effects of workforce participation on carer health, which is one of the focuses of this study.…”

Section: Strengths and Limitations Of This Studymentioning

confidence: 93%

“…The other pathway that leads to chronic stress may promote carer's unhealthy behaviours such as, drug and alcohol abuse, smoking, poor nutrition, and sedentary lifestyle, that are often associated with physical and mental health problems 19 . In an Australian study of women, aged 50 years or more, carers reported higher symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress than non-carers 25 . They also, reported significantly lower participation in health promoting activities and physical activities 25 .…”

Section: Strengths and Limitations Of This Studymentioning

confidence: 93%

A Longitudinal Analysis of Mental and General Health Status of Informal Carers in Australia

Mohanty¹,

Niyonsenga

2019

Preprint

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Background The study investigates the self-assessed mental and general health status of informal carers in Australia. It evaluates the influence of carer’s health behaviours, namely: physical activity, smoking and drinking status; along with their social connectedness and workforce engagement on their health status. Methods The study uses a retrospective longitudinal design using data from the Household Income and Labour Dynamics of Australia survey, waves 5-15 (2005-2015). It includes individuals aged 15 years and older from Australian households surveyed over a period of 11 years. The sample consists of 23,251 individuals. The outcome measures include: Mental health, general health and physical functioning, domains of the Short Form 36 Questionnaire, a widely used multi-dimensional measure of health-related quality of life. Using fixed effects regression, the analysis takes care of the issue of individuals self-selecting themselves as carers due to some predisposing factors such as age, poor health, socioeconomic status and sedentary behaviour. Results Informal carers suffer from poor mental (Beta = -0.587, p=0.003) and general health (Beta = -0.670, p=0.001) outcomes compared to non-carers in Australia. Increasing age has a modifying impact on carers’ mental and general health outcomes. The older carers are coping better with their caregiving status than the younger ones. Moreover, physical activities have a positive influence on both mental and general health for non-cares, with more activities generating better health outcomes. Also, physical activities have a modifying impact on carers’ mental health compared to non-carers. Furthermore, the study finds that moderate levels of social drinking have beneficial modifying impact on carers’ mental and general health. Conclusion Findings suggest that some targeted support programs for young carers and, in general, carer focused community physical activities programs, could help to improve the poor health profiles of carers. Moreover, improved informal carer’s health would help to reduce the institutional demand for carers and could bridge the gap in carers’ demand and supply. Finally, the study identified a link between moderate levels of social drinking and carer health that needs to be further explored with more targeted future research.

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The prevalence of physical activity among informal carers: a systematic review of international literature

et al. 2022

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BackgroundPrevious research has found physical activity levels among carers are low, and that carers are at greater risk of physical inactivity than their non-carer counterparts. Alternatively, research also suggests providing care may be associated with higher levels of physical activity than the general population, due to physically active care duties. Overall, there is a need to better understand the physical activity levels of carers to develop appropriate interventions and policies to promote health and wellbeing among carers. AimTo systematically review studies reporting the prevalence of physical activity among carers. MethodPubMed, SPORTDiscus, PsycINFO, and CINAHL, OpenGrey, Google and Google Scholar were searched for eligible articles. ResultsA total of 77 observational studies and 20 interventional studies were included. In low quality studies which examined adherence to physical activity guidelines, 16%-84% of carers self-reported not meeting PA guidelines, whilst medium-high quality studies found 29.9% -99%< of carers self-reported not meeting physical activity guidelines. However, it is not clear if carers are at higher risk of physical inactivity than non-carers. Studies which compared the physical activity levels of carers to non-carers reported conflicting results, and the association between hours of carers time, burden or strain, and physical activity was not consistent across studies. ConclusionFurther research with validated measures of different physical activity domains (leisure time, daily physical activity, caregiving duties), mental and physical health, is needed to better understand the physical activity behaviours of carers, and the associated health outcomes.

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The impact of carer status on participation in healthy activity and self‐reported health among Australian women over 50 years

Cited by 9 publications

References 24 publications

A longitudinal analysis of mental and general health status of informal carers in Australia

A longitudinal analysis of mental and general health status of informal carers in Australia

A Longitudinal Analysis of Mental and General Health Status of Informal Carers in Australia

The prevalence of physical activity among informal carers: a systematic review of international literature

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