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. 2024 Jul 2;13:e58440. doi: 10.2196/58440

Table 4.

Three categories of independent variables: (1) caregiver characteristics, (2) caregiving situation, and (3) support received.

Category and independent variables Description
Caregiver characteristics

Sex Male/female

Age Continuous

Province of residence Granada/Gipuzkoa

Place of residence Rural/urban

Education level Without studies: lower than primary, primary: EGBa/elementary, high school: FPb/BIPc/higher high school, superior: university or others

Employment situation With paid work or without paid work

Social class Five categories according to the occupation and according to the National Classification of Occupations of 1994 [40]

Health status prior to caregiving perceived Good (excellent, very good, and good) and deficient (regular and bad)

Relationship between care recipient and the caregiver Spouse/partner, child, father/mother, other

Lives with the care recipient Yes/no
Caregiving situation

Characteristics of the care recipient


Sex Male/female


Age Continuous


Degree of dependency Moderate dependency, severe dependency, and great dependency


Cognitive impairment or behavioral problems Yes/no

Caregiving characteristics


Type of tasks Personal care, physical mobility, domestic or accompanying tasks within the home and in use of health services, care related to sickness, and tasks outside the home


Intensity Daily hours of care


Frequency Weekly days of care


Duration of care Years of caring


Number of dependent people cared for Number
Support received

Informal support Unpaid support from family or social environment: yes/no

Formal support Formal support received in the last 12 months, financial benefit (FB) or home help (HH): without FB or HH, with FB without HH, without FB and with HH, with FB and HH.

Perceived social support DUKE-UNC Social Support Index with 11 items validated for use in the Spanish population: low support if score ≤ 32, high social support if score >32 [36].

aEGB: Educación General Básica.

bFP: Formación Professional.

cBIP: ___.