Family Caregiver’s Loneliness and Related Health Factors: What Can Be Changed?

Sylvie Bonin-Guillaume, Sylvie Arlotto, Alice Blin and Stéphanie Gentile
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Sylvie Bonin-Guillaume: Neurosciences of Systems Institute, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, UMR-Inserm 1106, Aix Marseille University, 13005 Marseille, France
Sylvie Arlotto: Service d’Evaluation Médicale, Assistance Publique Hôpitaux de Marseille, 13005 Marseille, France
Alice Blin: Service d’Evaluation Médicale, Assistance Publique Hôpitaux de Marseille, 13005 Marseille, France
Stéphanie Gentile: Service d’Evaluation Médicale, Assistance Publique Hôpitaux de Marseille, 13005 Marseille, France

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 12, 1-9

Abstract: Background: Loneliness is a public health issue that may affect the entire population. Loneliness is associated with depression, sleep disorders, fatigue, and increased risk of obesity and diabetes. Risk factors for loneliness include having a poor social network and poor physical and mental health. The main objective was to study factors related to loneliness of family caregivers caring for independent older people. Methods: We performed a non-interventional observational cross-sectional study in south-eastern France. Family caregivers caring for people aged 70 and over and living at home were included. These older people were independent, without long-term conditions, and had applied for professional social assistance for daily living. Data were collected through a questionnaire, administered face-to-face or by telephone. Loneliness and perceived health status were measured through a single-question. Burden was assessed through the Mini-Zarit Scale, and frailty was measured through the Gerontopole Frailty Screening Tool. Results: Of the 876 family caregivers included, 10% felt lonely often or always. They reported more physical and mental health issues than those who did not feel loneliness ( p < 0.001). Family caregivers with loneliness were more likely to be looking after a parent and were twice as likely to have a moderate to severe burden (OR = 2.6). They were more likely to feel anxious (OR = 5.6), to have sleep disorders (OR = 2.4), to be frail (OR = 2), and to view the status of their health as poor or bad (OR = 2). Conclusions: Loneliness has a negative impact on health, causes frailty, and places a burden on family caregivers. Means must be implemented to anticipate the consequences of the loneliness felt by family caregivers, notably by orienting them towards the relevant services.

Keywords: loneliness; caregivers; frailty; caregiver burden (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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