Caregiving Time of Unpaid Family Caregivers Assisting Older Adults With Hearing Difficulty

Objectives: We aimed to investigate the association of older adults’ hearing difficulty status with caregiving time. Methods: We used data from two linked surveys of Medicare beneficiaries and family caregivers. Hearing difficulty was defined by hearing aid use and hearing capacity in functional set...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of aging and health 2024-12, Vol.36 (10), p.610-618
Main Authors: Zhang, Wuyang, Powell, Danielle S., Garcia Morales, Emmanuel E., Deal, Jennifer A., Reed, Nicholas S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Caregivers
Caregivers - psychology
Dementia
Female
Hearing Aids
Hearing Loss
Humans
Male
Medicare
Middle Aged
Older people
Time Factors
United States
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Objectives: We aimed to investigate the association of older adults’ hearing difficulty status with caregiving time. Methods: We used data from two linked surveys of Medicare beneficiaries and family caregivers. Hearing difficulty was defined by hearing aid use and hearing capacity in functional settings. Weighted multivariable linear regression examined the association between hearing difficulty and caregiving time. Stratified analyses were conducted to investigate the moderation effects of caregiving networks and care recipient’s dementia status. Results: Among 3003 caregivers, those who assisted older adults with hearing difficulty were observed to spend greater time providing care (β = 1.18, 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 1.04, 1.32). Stronger associations in magnitude were observed among caregivers without caregiving networks (β = 1.35, 95% CI: 1.13, 1.56) and assisting older adults without dementia (β = 1.22; 95% CI = 1.06, 1.37). Discussion: Hearing difficulty may contribute to greater caregiving time and remains a potential target for caregiver support programs.
ISSN:0898-2643
1552-6887
1552-6887
DOI:10.1177/08982643231208240