Momentum - Fall 2012

The report is an important step forward in
understanding how to improve the lives of MS
caregivers.

information about MS might be better tailored to fit the needs of caregivers, such as providing online training regarding physical or behavioral aspects of caregiving.

About 40 percent of the caregivers believed the recipients would need 24-hour care in a long-term care facility within 10 years. The report suggests that legislation to improve caregiver support by increasing financial support for in-home care and respite care would likely help to decrease this percentage.

The report is an important step forward in understanding how to improve the lives of MS caregivers. Read the entire report at: caregiving.org/pdf/ research/MSCaregivers2012_ FINAL.pdf.

Measuring carepartner quality of life Other researchers are delving into the experiences of carepartners. Robert Buchanan, MD (University of Mississippi), with funding from the Society’s Health Care Delivery and Policy Research program, recently used a special survey to measure quality of life among 530 carepartners who were helping people with MS with mobility impairments.

Older carepartners reported lower quality of life, possibly because many care tasks took a greater physical toll (Disability and Rehabilitation, 2011; 33:113–21). When carepartners had fewer financial worries and were confident that the person they cared for was getting MS-focused health care, they experienced less stress and anxiety. Still, in the previous year, 28 percent of the respondents had sought treatment with a mental health professional.

A sense of accomplishment

In another study, Dr. Buchanan used data from the same survey to highlight factors that gave MS carepartners a positive sense of accomplishment (Disability & Rehabilitation, 2012; 34: 53–61). The two most significant positive factors were caring for an older person with MS and spending more time giving care. (This may be partially explained by studies showing older people with MS to be less depressed and anxious than their younger carepartners.)

Carepartners did not feel as
much positive accomplishment
if they were caring for a
spouse with MS, however. The
perception that they had, in
a sense, lost the partner they
once had—and perhaps their
own identity as a husband or
wife—may have overshadowed
any positive benefits from
being a caregiver. The study
points out factors that might
be important to consider in
evaluating the emotional health
of carepartners.

Out of the shadows

Often, caregivers are anonymous to the patient’s healthcare providers. The National Family Caregivers Association recommends that providers actually capture information about caregivers on patients’ medical forms to prevent this anonymity and the possible effects should the caregiver’s own health issues go unrecognized.