Table 2.
Characteristics of Primary Caregivers for Community-Dwelling Older Adults With Disability, by Older Adult’s Subsequent Emergency Department (ED) Utilization (n = 2521).
| All-Cause ED Utilization |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary Caregiver Characteristics | Full Sample (n = 2521); n (%)a | Those With All-Cause ED Utilization (n = 1342); n (%) | Those Without All-Cause ED Utilization (n = 1179); n (%) | P (χ2 Test for Between-Group Difference) |
| Demographic characteristics | ||||
| Age (years) | .33 | |||
| 14-44 | 227 (9.0) | 118 (10.1) | 109 (9.4) | |
| 45-64 | 1124 (44.6) | 617 (42.1) | 507 (41.0) | |
| 65+ | 1170 (46.4) | 607 (47.7) | 563 (49.6) | |
| Female | 1721 (68.3) | 900 (63.0) | 821 (65.9) | .17 |
| Caregiving circumstances | ||||
| Relationship to care recipient | .05 | |||
| Spouse | 884 (35.1) | 447 (41.3) | 437 (46.7) | |
| Nonspouse | 1637 (64.9) | 895 (58.7) | 742 (53.3) | |
| Resides apart from care recipient | 704 (27.9) | 380 (25.3) | 324 (24.5) | .64 |
| Caregiving for 4+years | 1309 (51.9) | 660 (50.8) | 649 (54.9) | <.01 |
| Employed for pay | 789 (31.3) | 436 (30.3) | 353 (29.6) | .17 |
| Hours of care provided per week | <.01 | |||
| 0-20 | 1069 (42.4) | 538 (44.1) | 531 (50.2) | |
| 20-40 | 659 (26.1) | 345 (22.4) | 314 (24.3) | |
| >40 | 793 (31.5) | 459 (33.5) | 334(25.5) | |
| Help provided | ||||
| Household tasks | 2171 (86.1) | 1177 (90.0) | 994 (87.5) | .01 |
| Self-care | 1701 (67.5) | 939 (72.0) | 762 (66.9) | <.01 |
| Mobility | 1791 (71.0) | 990 (76.1) | 801 (71.6) | <.01 |
| Health care tasksb | 1530 (60.7) | 863 (69.0) | 667 (61.4) | <.001 |
| Self-reported health | .45 | |||
| Excellent/very good | 795 (37.4) | 415 (36.8) | 380 (38.2) | |
| Good | 1040 (36.2) | 548 (35.9) | 492 (36.6) | |
| Fair/Poor | 686 (27.2) | 379 (27.4) | 307 (25.2) | |
| Support services | ||||
| Support group use | 128 (5.1) | 60 (3.8) | 68 (4.9) | .14 |
| Respite care use | 379 (15.0) | 209 (14.9) | 170 (13.5) | .42 |
| Caregiving appraisal | ||||
| Financial strain | .01 | |||
| None | 1674 (66.4) | 862 (66.2) | 812 (71.0) | |
| Some/A lot | 847 (33.6) | 480 (33.8) | 367 (29.0) | |
| Emotional strain | .07 | |||
| None | 1098 (43.6) | 562 (42.8) | 536 (46.4) | |
| Some/A lot | 1423 (56.5) | 780 (44.4) | 643 (53.6) | |
| Physical strain | <.001 | |||
| None | 1374 (54.5) | 689 (55.6) | 685 (62.3) | |
| Some/A lot | 1147 (45.5) | 653 (44.4) | 494 (37.7) | |
a
Percentages are weighted to account for NLTCS and NHATS complex survey design. Numbers may not sum exactly due to rounding. Percentages refer to column category.
b
Mobility tasks include moving around inside the house or transferring in/out of bed, self-care tasks include bathing, dressing, toileting, or eating, and health care tasks include assisting with medication management and/or wound care.