Rural Versus Non-Rural Residence and Psychosocial Outcomes Among Caregivers of Patients with Dementia and Related Disorders

Article type: Short Communication

Authors: Besser, Lilah M.^{a; *} | Galvin, James E.^b

Affiliations: [a] Institute for Human Health and Disease Intervention (I-HEALTH), Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL, USA | [b] Comprehensive Center for Brain Health, Department of Neurology, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA

Correspondence: [*] Correspondence to: Lilah Besser, PhD, Florida Atlantic University, 777 Glades Rd, SO-44, Room 284H, Boca Raton, FL 33431, USA. Tel.: +1 561 316 0628; E-mail: [email protected].

Abstract: We used data on 718 dementia caregivers and multivariable linear regression to test associations between residential locale and psychosocial outcomes (grief, wellbeing, burden, quality of life [QOL], self-efficacy/mastery, and social networks). Rural residence (versus urban or suburban) was not associated with the psychosocial outcomes. However, for rural caregivers, greater self-efficacy/mastery was associated with lower grief (versus urban/suburban) and burden (versus suburban), and greater social network quality was associated with lower burden (versus suburban) and higher QOL (versus urban). Interventions targeting self-efficacy/mastery and social networks may be particularly effective at improving rural caregivers’ mental health and QOL.

Keywords: Caregivers, dementia, mental health, quality of life, residence characteristics

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-215162

Journal: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 85, no. 3, pp. 993-999, 2022