The mental health of informal caregivers in Ontario

An epidemiological survey

Dados Bibliográficos

ID11028461
AutoresJ J Cochrane, Jean-Philippe Cochrane (Clarke University), Paula Goering (0000-0002-2976-2127), P N Goering, J M Rogers, Joan Rogers
Ano1997
Volume87
Fascículo12
Páginas2002-2007
Data de publicação1997-12-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoAmerican Journal of Public Health (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0090-0036 • E-ISSN: 1541-0048
EditoraAmerican Public Health Association (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.2105/ajph.87.12.2002
PMID9431291
OpenAlexW2093747285
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas15
Referências citadas26

OBJECTIVES: This study describes the mental health status, disability, physical health, and mental health service utilization of informal care-givers under the age of 65 in the province of Ontario. METHODS: The study analyzed data collected in the 1991 province-wide, population-based mental health supplement to the Ontario Health Survey. Diagnoses from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 3rd edition, revised, were generated on the basis of a structured diagnostic interview. Caregivers and noncaregivers are compared here on past-year prevalence of psychiatric disorder, physical illness, disability, and utilization of mental health services. The possible confounding effects of age, sex, employment status, and economic disadvantage are explored. RESULTS: Informal caregivers (n = 1219) constituted 15.0% of the sample. Caregivers had higher rates of affective (6.3% vs 4.2%) and anxiety (17.5% vs 10.9%) disorders than noncaregivers and used health services for mental health problems at nearly twice the rate. CONCLUSIONS: Documentation of the prevalence of caregiving and the increased prevalence of psychiatric disorders, disability, and service utilization among caregivers is of critical importance as governments continue to move toward community-based care. To accomplish this goal, the needs of caregivers must be acknowledged and met by the establishment of appropriate and readily accessible support services

Anxiety · Disadvantage · Environmental health · Health care · Mental health · Population · Psychiatry · Epidemiology · Family Caregiving in Mental Illness · Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving · Medicine · Mental Health Treatment and Access · Gerontology