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Association between Falls and Caregiving Tasks among Informal Caregivers: Canadian Community Health Survey Data

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 January 2018

Wendy Vaughon ,
Yeonjung Lee ,
William Gallo ,
Jennifer Kaufman  and
Aig Unuigbe
Wendy Vaughon*
Affiliation:
CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy
Yeonjung Lee
Affiliation:
University of Calgary
William Gallo
Affiliation:
CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy
Jennifer Kaufman
Affiliation:
CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy
Aig Unuigbe
Affiliation:
Graduate Center, CUNY
*
*Correspondence and requests for reprints should be sent to / La correspondance et les demandes de tirés-à-part doivent être adresées à : Wendy Vaughon, MPH CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy 55 W 125th St. New York, NY 10027 <wvaughon@hunter.cuny.edu>
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Abstract

Falls are a common cause of morbidity and mortality in older adults. While research has explored the relationship between older care recipient falls and caregiver health, there has been little investigation of the relationship between caregiving tasks and falls in older caregivers. This study assessed associations between falls and caregiving frequency and type of caregiving tasks among informal older caregivers. Data from the Canadian Community Health Survey on Healthy Aging (Public Use Microdata File 2008–2009) (n = 2,934) were examined, using descriptive and logistic regression analyses. Higher frequency of caregiving was positively associated with falls, although those who performed household chores were less likely to report falling in the past year. Results suggest there may be an association between factors related to caregiving and falls in older caregivers. More research using longitudinal and experimental data is needed to better understand the relationship between caregiving tasks and falls in older caregivers.

Résumé

Les chutes constituent une cause de morbidité et de mortalité fréquente chez les personnes âgées. Bien que plusieurs études aient exploré les liens entre les chutes des bénéficiaires de soins plus âgés et la santé de leurs aidants, peu de recherches ont abordé les liens entre les tâches effectuées par les aidants âgés et leurs propres chutes. La présente étude a évalué les rapports entre, d’une part, les chutes des aidants et, d’autre part, la fréquence et le type de tâches assumées par des aidants naturels plus âgés. Les données, tirées de l’Enquête sur la santé des collectivités canadiennes - Vieillissement en santé (ESCC 2008-2009; N=2934), ont été examinées à l’aide d’analyses descriptives et de régressions logistiques. Les fréquences de prestation de soins plus élevées étaient positivement associées, chez les aidants, avec un plus grand nombre de chutes subies au cours de la dernière année, tandis que les aidants effectuant des tâches ménagères rapportaient moins de chutes. Ces résultats indiquent qu’il pourrait y avoir une relation entre des facteurs associés aux soins fournis et les chutes, chez les aidants plus âgés. De plus amples recherches, utilisant des données longitudinales et expérimentales, sont nécessaires pour mieux comprendre les liens entre les tâches assumées par l’aidant âgé et ses risques de chute.

Keywords

agingfallsinformal caregiverscaregiving taskscaregivingvieillissementchutesaidants naturelstâches de l’aidantprestation de soins
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 37 , Issue 1 , March 2018 , pp. 70 - 75
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Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 2018 

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