Changes in Caregiver Personal Support Networks: Gender Differences and Effects on Health (CUIDAR-SE Study)

Technological changes have led to important advances in medical diagnoses and treatments that prolong the informal care process. Support from the personal network of informal caregivers is an undervalued resource and the changes that have occurred over time are unknown. The aim of this study was to...

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Autores principales:	María Nieves Rodríguez-Madrid, María del Río-Lozano, Rosario Fernández-Peña, María del Mar García-Calvente
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	informal care gender perspective social network analysis personal support networks longitudinal study Medicine R
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/3efabfacece9406ab709584ae79dfff1
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:3efabfacece9406ab709584ae79dfff12021-11-11T16:47:37ZChanges in Caregiver Personal Support Networks: Gender Differences and Effects on Health (CUIDAR-SE Study)10.3390/ijerph1821117231660-46011661-7827https://doaj.org/article/3efabfacece9406ab709584ae79dfff12021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/21/11723https://doaj.org/toc/1661-7827https://doaj.org/toc/1660-4601Technological changes have led to important advances in medical diagnoses and treatments that prolong the informal care process. Support from the personal network of informal caregivers is an undervalued resource and the changes that have occurred over time are unknown. The aim of this study was to analyze the changes in personal network support among informal caregivers and to examine the effect of these changes on self-perceived caregiver health, with a focus on differences between men and women and caregivers with high and low levels of burden We also investigated caregiver perceptions and explanations of changes to their support network (losses and additions and no change). Using a mixed-methods approach, data were obtained from 32 caregivers that were intentionally selected in Spain, who were interviewed twice with a one-year interval. In the quantitative phase, personal networks analysis was performed with Egonet software, which obtained data on the composition and functional content in social support from 1600 personal relationships (25 alters for each ego in the two waves). In the qualitative phase, semi-structured interviews were conducted in the two waves with a guide in order to explore the changes in informal support resources over time. The selected men with high levels of burden pointed out a loss of network support with more discouraging reports compared with the low-burden male caregivers. Furthermore, the selected women with low burden levels mentioned losses too; however, their reports were more positive. Women reported improved health, especially those with low burden scores in the first wave and those who did not lose support. Caregivers with a high initial burden and who lost support reported worse health, particularly men and women with a strong sense of duty toward care. Social support from personal networks is important for caregiver health and its effects are influenced by gender roles. Our findings could help by improving the relational and social capital of informal caregivers and adapting them to the new needs of formal home care systems.María Nieves Rodríguez-MadridMaría del Río-LozanoRosario Fernández-PeñaMaría del Mar García-CalventeMDPI AGarticleinformal caregender perspectivesocial network analysispersonal support networkslongitudinal studyMedicineRENInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Vol 18, Iss 11723, p 11723 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	informal care gender perspective social network analysis personal support networks longitudinal study Medicine R
spellingShingle	informal care gender perspective social network analysis personal support networks longitudinal study Medicine R María Nieves Rodríguez-Madrid María del Río-Lozano Rosario Fernández-Peña María del Mar García-Calvente Changes in Caregiver Personal Support Networks: Gender Differences and Effects on Health (CUIDAR-SE Study)
description	Technological changes have led to important advances in medical diagnoses and treatments that prolong the informal care process. Support from the personal network of informal caregivers is an undervalued resource and the changes that have occurred over time are unknown. The aim of this study was to analyze the changes in personal network support among informal caregivers and to examine the effect of these changes on self-perceived caregiver health, with a focus on differences between men and women and caregivers with high and low levels of burden We also investigated caregiver perceptions and explanations of changes to their support network (losses and additions and no change). Using a mixed-methods approach, data were obtained from 32 caregivers that were intentionally selected in Spain, who were interviewed twice with a one-year interval. In the quantitative phase, personal networks analysis was performed with Egonet software, which obtained data on the composition and functional content in social support from 1600 personal relationships (25 alters for each ego in the two waves). In the qualitative phase, semi-structured interviews were conducted in the two waves with a guide in order to explore the changes in informal support resources over time. The selected men with high levels of burden pointed out a loss of network support with more discouraging reports compared with the low-burden male caregivers. Furthermore, the selected women with low burden levels mentioned losses too; however, their reports were more positive. Women reported improved health, especially those with low burden scores in the first wave and those who did not lose support. Caregivers with a high initial burden and who lost support reported worse health, particularly men and women with a strong sense of duty toward care. Social support from personal networks is important for caregiver health and its effects are influenced by gender roles. Our findings could help by improving the relational and social capital of informal caregivers and adapting them to the new needs of formal home care systems.
format	article
author	María Nieves Rodríguez-Madrid María del Río-Lozano Rosario Fernández-Peña María del Mar García-Calvente
author_facet	María Nieves Rodríguez-Madrid María del Río-Lozano Rosario Fernández-Peña María del Mar García-Calvente
author_sort	María Nieves Rodríguez-Madrid
title	Changes in Caregiver Personal Support Networks: Gender Differences and Effects on Health (CUIDAR-SE Study)
title_short	Changes in Caregiver Personal Support Networks: Gender Differences and Effects on Health (CUIDAR-SE Study)
title_full	Changes in Caregiver Personal Support Networks: Gender Differences and Effects on Health (CUIDAR-SE Study)
title_fullStr	Changes in Caregiver Personal Support Networks: Gender Differences and Effects on Health (CUIDAR-SE Study)
title_full_unstemmed	Changes in Caregiver Personal Support Networks: Gender Differences and Effects on Health (CUIDAR-SE Study)
title_sort	changes in caregiver personal support networks: gender differences and effects on health (cuidar-se study)
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/3efabfacece9406ab709584ae79dfff1
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Changes in Caregiver Personal Support Networks: Gender Differences and Effects on Health (CUIDAR-SE Study)

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