Dataset Information

Support, needs and expectations of family caregivers regarding general practitioners - results from an online survey.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Family caregivers are often the first line of support for people requiring care; although they may personally stand to benefit, these activities substantially increase the risk of physical and emotional stress. General practitioners (GPs) may provide important support and stabilisation, but need to adjust to the needs and expectations of this group in order to do so. The aim of the study was to compare the needs of family caregivers from GPs to the support they actually experience. Additional aims included determining the main factors affecting satisfaction amongst family caregivers with support from GPs. The results were used to develop possible approaches towards optimisation within the purview of general medical practice.

Methods

Between January and July 2020, 612 people supporting or caring for a family member responded to an online survey posted in seventeen internet forums focused on family caregivers. In addition to the descriptive analysis, a t-test with independent samples was used to identify significant differences between two groups. We also used binary logistic regression analysis to identify indications of potentially influential factors regarding the experienced support from GPs.

Results

Around three out of every four respondents (72%) consulted GPs in care matters. The respondents gave positive responses on their GP's knowledge of the care situation (71%), approachability in various issues connecting with care and service towards the caregiver (82%). GPs' efforts in meeting the needs and requirements of the care recipient were also rated positively (82%). Weaknesses in support from GPs mainly involved the lack of information on advice and assistance services (55%) as well as frequently not identifying or involving caregivers as such soon enough (42%). Results from regression analysis show that the last two aspects play a major role in subjective satisfaction amongst family caregivers with support from GPs.

Conclusions

We recommend that GPs undergo further training to reinforce awareness that the care triad of needs, requirements and stresses amongst family caregivers also plays a vital role in care outcomes. With this in mind, general practice staff should adopt a pre-emptive strategy towards approaching family members about potential issues and informing them about existing assistance and support services.

SUBMITTER: Wangler J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7927394 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Support, needs and expectations of family caregivers regarding general practitioners - results from an online survey.

Wangler Julian J Jansky Michael M

BMC family practice 20210303 1

<h4>Background</h4>Family caregivers are often the first line of support for people requiring care; although they may personally stand to benefit, these activities substantially increase the risk of physical and emotional stress. General practitioners (GPs) may provide important support and stabilisation, but need to adjust to the needs and expectations of this group in order to do so. The aim of the study was to compare the needs of family caregivers from GPs to the support they actually experi ...[more]

PMID: 33658009

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Project description:Purpose/objectiveThe purpose of this study was to assess the frequency of unmet needs of carers among a convenience sample of carers, and the participant factors associated with unmet needs, to inform the development of interventions that will support a range of caregivers. The aims of this study were to: (1) assess the most frequently reported moderate-high unmet needs of caregivers; and (2) examine the age, gender, condition of the care recipient, and country variables associated with types of unmet needs reported by informal caregivers.Research method/designAn online cross-sectional survey among informal caregivers in English-speaking countries was conducted. Self-reported unmet needs were assessed using an unmet needs measure with the following five unmet needs domains: (1) Health information and support for care recipient; (2) Health service management; (3) Communication and relationship; (4) Self-care; and (5) Support services accessibility. Informal caregivers were asked "In the last month, what was your level of need for help with…", and the ten highest ranked moderate-high unmet needs presented as ranked proportions. Logistic regression modelling examined the factors associated with types of unmet needs.ResultsOverall, 457 caregivers were included in the final analysis. Seven of the ten highest ranked unmet needs experienced by caregivers in the last month were in the Self-care domain, including "Reducing stress in your life" (74.1%). Significant associations were found between younger caregiver age (18-45 years) and reporting moderate-high unmet needs in Health Information and support for care recipient, Health service management, and Support services accessibility (all p's = <0.05).Conclusions/implicationsCaregivers are not experiencing significant differences in unmet needs between countries and caree/care recipient conditions, suggesting that general interventions could be developed to support a range of caregivers across countries. Increased awareness of informal caregivers' unmet needs, particularly for younger caregivers, among health care providers may improve support provision to caregivers.

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Dataset Information

Support, needs and expectations of family caregivers regarding general practitioners - results from an online survey.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Support, needs and expectations of family caregivers regarding general practitioners - results from an online survey.

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