Exploring the longitudinal trajectories of caregiver distress and its effects on downstream health and function

Project Summary

Canada relies heavily on family caregivers to care for its aging population. Many caregivers are distressed, yet it is unclear how their distress change over time, nor which factors make caregivers more/less distressed. It is also unclear if distress affects caregivers’ future health and well-being. We will use data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging to describe the level of distress experienced by Canadian caregivers, how distress levels change over time, and identify risk factors of distress at any time and worsened distress. We will also study if distress affects caregivers’ health, functioning, and life satisfaction in the future, and identify the most important contributors to target. Our findings will inform policy decisions on caregiver support, home care reform, and health systems planning.