TY - JOUR
T1 - Social Support, Sense of Belonging, and Communication Technology Use Among Paid and Unpaid Caregivers of Middle-Aged and Older Adults
AU - Lee, Shinduk
AU - Ory, Marcia G.
AU - Dahlke, Deborah Vollmer
AU - Smith, Matthew Lee
N1 - Funding Information:
The caregiver survey was funded by contributions from the Texas A&M Center for Population Health and Aging, DVD Associates, LLC, and Clairvoyant Networks Incorporated.
Funding Information:
The study was partially supported by Mr. Steve Popovich, the president and CEO of Clairvoyant Network. Clairvoyant Network is a company developing products related to caregiving solutions. Mr. Popovich was not involved in the conceptualization, methodology, analyses, and development of this manuscript. The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2022 Lee, Ory, Dahlke and Smith.
PY - 2022/5/30
Y1 - 2022/5/30
N2 - OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study are to: (1) describe communication technology use among paid and unpaid middle-aged and older caregivers of adults 50 and older in a natural (non-experimental) setting; and (2) examine the association between communication technology use, perceived social support, and sense of belonging in this population.METHODS: Means and standard deviations, or frequencies and percentages, were used to describe study participants. Chi-square tests or independent sample
t-tests were used to compare sociodemographic characteristics, communication technology use, perceived social support, and sense of belonging to the local community between paid and unpaid caregivers. Multivariable regression analysis was performed to predict each outcome (i.e., sense of belonging and social support) based on the use of texting or communication applications.
RESULTS: The average age of participants was age 64.2 years, and the majority was female (74.8%) and non-Hispanic White (66.9%). Compared to paid caregivers, unpaid caregivers were older (64.5 vs. 62.2 years,
p = 0.022) and a larger proportion were non-Hispanic White (70.8% vs. 47.7%,
p < 0.001). Nearly 83% of the study participants reported using texting or communication applications (81.5% among paid caregivers and 83.1% among unpaid caregivers,
p = 0.718). After adjusting for caregivers' age, sex, race/ethnicity, and education, a significantly higher sense of belonging was observed among paid caregivers than unpaid caregivers (
b = 9.40,
p = 0.009). After adjusting for caregivers' age, sex, race/ethnicity, and education, the use of texting or other communication applications significantly increased caregivers' perceived availability of social support (
b = 0.35,
p = 001).
CONCLUSIONS: These study results showed a greater sense of belonging to the local community among paid caregivers compared to unpaid caregivers. The use of communication technology was associated with an increased sense of belonging to their local community among paid caregivers, yet the use of communication technology did not contribute to feelings of belonging among unpaid caregivers. In an aging society, both paid and unpaid caregivers are essential elements of the care system. Research is needed to understand the social support needs of paid and unpaid caregivers and the types of interventions to promote social support and community engagement for both groups.
AB - OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study are to: (1) describe communication technology use among paid and unpaid middle-aged and older caregivers of adults 50 and older in a natural (non-experimental) setting; and (2) examine the association between communication technology use, perceived social support, and sense of belonging in this population.METHODS: Means and standard deviations, or frequencies and percentages, were used to describe study participants. Chi-square tests or independent sample
t-tests were used to compare sociodemographic characteristics, communication technology use, perceived social support, and sense of belonging to the local community between paid and unpaid caregivers. Multivariable regression analysis was performed to predict each outcome (i.e., sense of belonging and social support) based on the use of texting or communication applications.
RESULTS: The average age of participants was age 64.2 years, and the majority was female (74.8%) and non-Hispanic White (66.9%). Compared to paid caregivers, unpaid caregivers were older (64.5 vs. 62.2 years,
p = 0.022) and a larger proportion were non-Hispanic White (70.8% vs. 47.7%,
p < 0.001). Nearly 83% of the study participants reported using texting or communication applications (81.5% among paid caregivers and 83.1% among unpaid caregivers,
p = 0.718). After adjusting for caregivers' age, sex, race/ethnicity, and education, a significantly higher sense of belonging was observed among paid caregivers than unpaid caregivers (
b = 9.40,
p = 0.009). After adjusting for caregivers' age, sex, race/ethnicity, and education, the use of texting or other communication applications significantly increased caregivers' perceived availability of social support (
b = 0.35,
p = 001).
CONCLUSIONS: These study results showed a greater sense of belonging to the local community among paid caregivers compared to unpaid caregivers. The use of communication technology was associated with an increased sense of belonging to their local community among paid caregivers, yet the use of communication technology did not contribute to feelings of belonging among unpaid caregivers. In an aging society, both paid and unpaid caregivers are essential elements of the care system. Research is needed to understand the social support needs of paid and unpaid caregivers and the types of interventions to promote social support and community engagement for both groups.
KW - caregiving
KW - communication technology
KW - older adult
KW - sense of belonging
KW - social support
KW - Caregivers
KW - Humans
KW - Middle Aged
KW - Social Support
KW - Employment
KW - Technology
KW - Female
KW - Aged
KW - Communication
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85132079826&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85132079826&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3389/fpubh.2022.898042
DO - 10.3389/fpubh.2022.898042
M3 - Article
C2 - 35712314
AN - SCOPUS:85132079826
SN - 2296-2565
VL - 10
SP - 898042
JO - Frontiers in Public Health
JF - Frontiers in Public Health
M1 - 898042
ER -