Ethnic differences in the burden of caregiving

Abstract

Family caregivers of dementia patients experience varying levels of burden (or stress) associated with care giving tasks. Although this burden may lead to negative health effects for caregivers, very few studies have focused on ethnic differences in the correlates of perceived burden. In a pilot study, we examined correlates of perceived burden associated with providing care for a family member with dementia among African-American (n=20) and white (n=62) caregivers. In this limited sample, we found that mean burden scores were increased among whites if they were the spouse of the patient, and among African-Americans if annual family income was in excess of $20,000. We found no mean burden score differences for either group by past use of a variety of services. Although these results are preliminary, this ongoing study has the potential to provide needed information on sources and correlates of perceived burden among rural African-American and white caregivers.