Understanding Caregiver Stress to Inform Community‐Based Stress Monitoring and Supportive Interventions: A Qualitative, Descriptive Study.
To inform community‐based stress monitoring tools and supportive interventions, this study aimed to understand caregiver stress as experienced by a diverse group of informal caregivers guided by the Pearlin's stress process model. We used a qualitative descriptive design conducting semistructured in...
| Publicado en: | Health & Social Care in the Community Vol. 2026; pp. 1 - 16 |
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| Autores principales: | , , , , , , , , , |
| Formato: | research tables/charts Journal Article |
| Publicado: |
Wiley-Blackwell
2/23/2026
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=191804410&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 191804410 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 09660410 EVX jtl: Health & Social Care in the Community issn: 09660410 maglogo: Y pubinfo: dt: 2/23/2026 vid: 2026 pid: 480 pub: Wiley-Blackwell place: Malden, Massachusetts artinfo: ui: 191804410 191804410 191804410 10.1155/hsc/2061790 191804410 ppf: 1 ppct: 15 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P tig: atl: Understanding Caregiver Stress to Inform Community‐Based Stress Monitoring and Supportive Interventions: A Qualitative, Descriptive Study. aug: au: Saha, Sian Flowers, Emily Ang, Chee Siang Casson, Alexander J. Condell, Joan Matcham, Faith Robinson, Tony Rooksby, John Rose, Louise Niroumand Sarvandani, Mohammad affil: Faculty of Nursing Midwifery & Palliative Care,, King's College London,, London, UK, kcl.ac.uk sug: subj: Caregiver Burden Therapy Community Mental Health Services Support, Psychosocial Life Experiences Human Male Female Adolescence Adult Middle Age Aged United Kingdom Qualitative Studies Descriptive Research Geographic Locations Weight Loss Sleep Disorders Depression Anxiety Semi-Structured Interview Dementia Snowball Sample Social Media Checklists Activities of Daily Living Bereavement Loneliness Peer Group Fatigue Musculoskeletal System Injuries Stroke Self Report Funding Source Adolescent: 13-18 years Adult: 19-44 years Middle Aged: 45-64 years Aged: 65+ years Male Female ab: To inform community‐based stress monitoring tools and supportive interventions, this study aimed to understand caregiver stress as experienced by a diverse group of informal caregivers guided by the Pearlin's stress process model. We used a qualitative descriptive design conducting semistructured interviews with informal caregivers (≥ 18 years) currently or previously caring for an adult with health issues at home. Data were analysed using the framework approach. We recruited 27 caregivers (19 current and 8 former) from various geographic locations within the United Kingdom. In terms of background and context, poor caregiver health increased stress whereas prior employment in health or social care, and access to trusted supports and resources reduced stress. Common primary stressors included rapidly changing or palliative care care‐recipient needs, loneliness and loss (i.e., loss of their normal life, or of the life and future plans they had expected). Family conflict, occupational/economic strains and social/recreational life constraints were important secondary stressors. Guilt contributed to intrapsychic strain resulting in low self‐esteem and feelings of role captivity. Few participants discussed positive elements of caregiving such as mastery or gain. Stress mediators included coping strategies such as taking control, humour, taking brief respite, social activities, access to peer and other forms of social support, and trusted support for caring. Common outcomes of stress included exhaustion, physical injuries, weight loss, difficulty sleeping, depression and anxiety. Despite growing recognition of issues facing informal caregivers and policies or services put in place to support them, our data indicate key stressors remain. Future supportive initiatives should reflect dynamic and individual caregiver needs, thereby enabling caregivers to prioritise their mental and physical wellbeing and receive brief respite from caregiving responsibilities. Stress monitoring tools and accompanying supportive interventions, if codesigned with caregivers with lived experience, offer the potential to identify high‐stress periods, enable timely interventions and guide more efficient resource allocation. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: research tables/charts Journal Article ougenre: Article language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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