Geriatric and non-geriatric cancer caregivers: Perceived benefits of technology...9th World Conference of the International Society for Gerontechnology (ISG), June 18-21, 2014, Taipei, Taiwan.
Purpose In the United States, cancer is the second leading cause of death in those who are 65 years and older1. Cancer impacts not only the patient but also the caregiver, who is often a spouse of similar age. While there are many studies focused on helping the cancer patient, one overlooked area is...
| Published in: | Gerontechnology Vol. 13; no. 2; pp. 231 - 232 |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
| Format: | abstract proceedings research Journal Article |
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International Society for Gerontechnology
2014 Special Issue
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=180444867&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 180444867 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 15691101 904R jtl: Gerontechnology issn: 15691101 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: 2014 Special Issue vid: 13 iid: 2 pid: 54298 pub: International Society for Gerontechnology artinfo: ui: 180444867 180444867 180444867 10.4017/gt.2014.13.02.112.00 180444867 ppf: 231 ppct: 1 formats: tig: atl: Geriatric and non-geriatric cancer caregivers: Perceived benefits of technology...9th World Conference of the International Society for Gerontechnology (ISG), June 18-21, 2014, Taipei, Taiwan. aug: au: LAPID, M. I. ATHERTON, P. J. CLARK, M. M. KUNG, S. RICHARDSON, J. W. CHEVILLE, A. L. DYRBYE, L. N. HUBBARD, J. M. PIDERMAN, K. M. SHANAFELT, T. D. SLOAN, J. A. WEST, C. P. SCHOTT, D. K. RUMMANS, T. A. affil: Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA sug: subj: Geriatrics Neoplasms In Old Age Caregiver Attitudes Technology Caregiver Burden Congresses and Conferences Taiwan Taiwan Aged Aged: 65+ years ab: Purpose In the United States, cancer is the second leading cause of death in those who are 65 years and older1. Cancer impacts not only the patient but also the caregiver, who is often a spouse of similar age. While there are many studies focused on helping the cancer patient, one overlooked area is how to help the caregiver. The purpose of this project was to learn about the geriatric versus non-geriatric cancer caregivers' perceptions regarding the value of technology in reducing their caregiver burden. Method Cancer caregivers in an outpatient medical oncology clinic were surveyed regarding their current utilization of technology and willingness to use technology to reduce caregiver burden or distress. Questions were based on the Family Caregiver Alliance (FCA) survey regarding the use of technology in caregivers2. Since age has been associated with technology usage, responses were compared among geriatric (>65 years) and non-geriatric (18-64 years) caregivers. Results & Discussion Of the 112 respondents, 65.7% (n=71) were female, 94.6% (n=106) were white, and 84.3% (n=91) had post--high school education. There were equal numbers of geriatric and non-geriatric caregivers. Almost all caregivers had internet access (94%) and e-mail (90%). Geriatric caregivers lagged behind non-geriatric caregivers in terms of willingness to access internet-based tools to help themselves (76% vs 94%; p=0.04) and were less frequent utilizers of social media (32% vs 62%, p=0.01), smartphones (28% vs 58%, p=0.01), and other mobile wireless devices (30% vs 69%, p<0.001). They also had lower expectations that caregiving technologies could (i) improve their own quality of life (p=0.01), (ii) make caregiving easier logistically (p<0.05), (iii) increase feelings of being effective as a caregiver (p<0.04), and (iv) save time (p<0.01). Regardless of age, a majority of the caregivers (62%) endorsed the potential benefit of caregiving technologies in preventing burnout. We conclude that most cancer caregivers have high access to technology and are receptive to technology-based tools to help with their caregiving role. Not surprisingly, geriatric cancer caregivers utilized technology less than non-geriatric cancer caregivers. Thus, continued efforts will be needed to design gerontechnology tools that will be easy to use and accepted by geriatric caregivers, in the quest to help them while they help their care recipients. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: abstract proceedings research Journal Article ougenre: Article language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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