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Reciprocal influences between burnout and effectiveness in professional care for elders
- Authors:
- CHEUNG Chau-Kiu, CHOW Esther Oi-Wah
- Journal article citation:
- Social Work in Health Care, 50(9), October 2011, pp.694-718.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
In a community care setting, the quality of life of the care recipient and the quality of service of the care provider are intertwined. The authors argue that this is a proposition derived from the dialectical perspective, which envisions the importance of promoting the quality of life of both the care recipient and provider, where the proposition hinges on mediation by caring effectiveness. This study explored the views of 232 dyads of older Chinese care recipients and their professional care providers in Hong Kong. Psychological well-being and functional disability were used as indicators of the quality of life of care recipients, whereas burnout was used as an indicator of the low quality of life of professional care providers. Findings revealed that caring effectiveness mediated the impact of the earlier burnout of the professional care provider on the subsequent psychological well-being of the care recipient. In turn, the earlier psychological well-being and functional disability of the care recipient also affected the burnout of the professional care provider. Implications for practice are discussed.
Caregiver strain, age, and psychological well-being of older spousal caregivers in Hong Kong
- Author:
- CHOW Esther Oi-Wah
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Social Work, 15(5), 2015, pp.479-497.
- Publisher:
- Sage
With the social policy movement, smaller family size, longer lifespan, confined living conditions, and limited caregiving resources, informal caregiving for older adults in Hong Kong has become the main responsibility of the spouse. To examine whether psychological well-being differs by caregiver strain and age, 112 spousal caregivers aged 55 and over were recruited from 13 caregiver resource centres in Hong Kong. Participants responded to a structured questionnaire on multiple dimensions of psychological well-being. Of the respondents, 22.9% reported high levels of strain and 9.9% reported high levels of depression. Results from t-tests revealed that caregivers who perceive low levels of strain are more likely to report lower caregiving distress, higher general mental health, lower depressive symptoms, higher subjective well-being, higher life satisfaction, and higher purpose in life. Old-old caregivers are more likely to report lower caregiving distress, lower depressive symptoms, and higher subjective well-being than young-old caregivers. Findings are discussed in relation to the transactional model of stress and coping, selective optimization with compensation theory, and socio-cultural context in Hong Kong. It is suggested that culturally sensitive intervention programmes should be custom-tailored for older spousal caregivers by honouring their contributions, affirming their strengths, enhancing their SOC strategies, and educating on successful ageing. (Edited publisher abstract)