Resource and Service Needs and
Utilization of Employed Caregivers:
Gender and Employee Group Profiles
Barbara Shadden, Ph.D., Ro Di Brezzo,
Ph.D., Inza Fort, Ed.D., and Melissa Powers, M.S.
Office for Studies on Aging, University
of Arkansas
The Problem
Informal
caregiving in the U.S. carries much of the financial and
services burden of elder care for the
nation
Many caregivers
are employed managing dual challenges of
work and caregiving
Burdens on working
caregivers will only increase in the next two
decades
The Challenge
Identify needs of
employed caregivers in specific work settings
and ease of obtaining
information/services
Describe specific
types of resources used and/or desired by
working caregivers
Determine
differences, if any, between working caregivers when
sorted by gender and employment status
The Study
Subjects: 3134
University of Arkansas employees 980 faculty;
2154 staff (classified &
non-classified)
Questionnaire:
work, caregiving and health impact
Response rate
30.8% 329 faculty, 261 non-classified staff, 348
classified staff. Of these, 31% described selves as caregivers
to
elderly and/or disabled adult
Disproportionately
more female than male caregivers
Ease/Difficulty of Caregiving
1=Very Easy 5=Very Difficult
In
your experience, how easy or difficult has it been to find care arrangements for this
elderly or disabled person?
No significant differences across employee
groups
Women rated task of finding care as
significantly more difficult than
men (mean=3.1 vs. 2.4, p<.0001)
In
general, how easy or difficult has it been for you to know where to turn for help?
Females reported more difficulty than males
(F=7.627 p=.006)
Significant difference between employment
groups (F=6.356, df=2,
p=.008)harder for classified staff than
faculty
Male
Female
Faculty
2.6
2.8
Non-Classified
2.6
3.2
Classified 2.7
3.5
Resource/Service Needs Probed
ό
Information & Education
ό
Specific Caregiver Skills Training
ό
Discussion/Support Group
ό
Individual Counseling
ό Group
Counseling
ό
Resource Center
ό Respite
Care
ό Family
Leave Time
ό Access
to Home Health Care Providers
Resources Used
Now
Most Used -- Info and Education (28.8%), followed by Family Leave (11.9%). All others under 10%.
Most Used -- Info and Education (28.8%), followed by Family Leave (11.9%). All others under 10%.
Would Use If
Available
Most Likely to be Used If Available --Resource Center highest (64.9%). Others close to 50% include Family Leave, Information, Access to Trained Caregivers
Most Likely to be Used If Available --Resource Center highest (64.9%). Others close to 50% include Family Leave, Information, Access to Trained Caregivers
Would Not Use
Support Group (60), Respite Care (59), Individual Counseling (62), Group Counseling (73). Counseling and Group Programs least preferred.
Gender Differences
(p<.05)
Information and
Education
Discussion or Support
Group
Individual Counseling
Respite Care
Proportionately more
women use or would use fewer would not use
Employee Group
Differences (p<.05)
Individual Counseling
Family Leave Time
Significant
differences only found for Individual Counseling and Family Leave Time
For all categories,
however, more Classified Staff reported willingness to use the
specified resource
Food for Thought
With respect to
services for employed caregivers, one size does NOT fit all
Women and
classified staff (typically lower paid) feel caregiving challenge is
more difficult and are more willing to use
different resources and services
