Profiles of Caregiving Arrangements of Community-dwelling People Living with Probable Dementia

• Published in: Journal of aging & social policy 2022-11, Vol.34 (6), p.860-875
• Main Authors: Jutkowitz, Eric, Mitchell, Lauren L., Bardenheier, Barbara H., Gaugler, Joseph E.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Caregivers; Caregiving; Children; Dementia; Families & family life; Humans; Independent Living; long-term care; Marriage; Retirement; Spouses
• ISSN: 0895-9420; 1545-0821
• DOI: 10.1080/08959420.2021.1927613

People living with dementia receive care from multiple caregivers, but little is known about the structure of their caregiving arrangements. This study used the Health and Retirement Study and latent class analyses to identify subgroups of caregiving arrangements based on caregiving hours received from spouses, children, other family/friends, and paid individuals among married (n = 361) and unmarried (n = 473) community-dwelling people with probable dementia. Three classes in the married sample (class 1 "low hours with shared care," class 2 "spouse-dominant care," and class 3 "children-dominant care") were identified. In class 1, spouses, children, and paid individuals provided 53%, 22%, and 26% of the caregiving hours, respectively. Three classes in the unmarried sample (class 1 "low hours with shared care," class 2 "children-dominant care," and class 3 "paid-dominant care") were identified. In unmarried class 1, children, other family/friends, and paid individuals provided 35%, 41% and 24% of the caregiving hours, respectively.