Introduction
The goals of stress and care burden on elderly caregivers can affect the psycho-social conditions of the elderly in various ways and make the nursing home an unpleasant experience for the elderly. This issue can cause stress levels for the elderly and their caregivers [
1]. The concept of resilience means the ability of people to effectively face stressful situations and turn them into opportunities. Resilience is a personality trait that moderates the adverse effects of stress [
2,
3]. Due to the necessity of examining the role of resilience in the relationship between perceived stress and caregiving burden and its particular importance in reducing the harmful effects of stress and caregiving burden, this research was conducted among the caregivers of the elderly in nursing homes in Tehran in 2015.
Methods
This cross-sectional and correlational research was conducted with a survey method. The statistical population of the present study was all the official caregivers of the elderly in the 24-hour elderly centers in Tehran (19 centers) in 2017 (one-year time frame) who were included in the study as a whole. Finally, 142 people were included in the study as a sample group. The participants of this study included caregivers who had been working in elderly centers for at least 3 months and who performed care work at least 3 days a week and 3 hours each time in their work shifts. In addition to the logical reasons, these time criteria and the caregivers’ history are given according to the requirements mentioned in some related texts and Amanian’s thesis (2012)-quoted from Cheng.
The participants of the current study signed informed consent. Demographic questionnaires, Cohen et al.’s perceived stress (1983), the short form of Zarit et al.’s (1986) care burden questionnaire, and Conner and Davidson’s resilience (2003) were used to collect information. Before completing the questionnaire, a brief explanation about the study was given to the participants. Also, during the questionnaire completion, the researcher answered the participants’ questions regarding the questionnaire and its expressions.
After the preliminary study of the theories and determining the reliability and validity of the questionnaires, the research was carried out in Tehran. Visiting the centers caring for the elderly in Tehran City, the caregivers of the elderly completed questionnaires on demographic characteristics, perceived stress, care burden, and resilience. After collecting the questionnaires and entering them in SPSS software v. 20, the results were analyzed. Descriptive statistics techniques, such as frequency tables, mean calculation, and standard deviation (SD) and inferential statistics, such as Pearson’s correlation, were used to analyze research data.
Results
The participants of this study included 142 people (92 women, 50 men) from the official caregivers of nursing homes for the elderly in Tehran (22 to 53 years old, with an average age of 35.38). In terms of marital status in 3 groups single (27%), married (40.1%), and divorced (32.4%), in terms of education in two groups of university education (22.5%) and non-university education (77.5%), in terms of work experience of the participants They had a minimum of 3 months of experience and a maximum of 13 years.
The participants were divided into two groups with income below one million tomans (35 people) and above one million tomans (107 people). The results of the research data analysis indicated that the members of the sample group endure high stress. Among the demographic variables, the participants’ perceived stress score had a significant relationship with the variables of education and marital status. Also, the target group had a significant association with education and marital status regarding the care burden variable, with an average score of 22.60. According to the obtained average values, it was found that the subjects’ resilience was in the middle level (number 50), and the caregivers of the elderly reported moderate resilience.
To investigate the moderating effect of the resilience variable in the relationship between perceived stress and caregiving burden, three regression models have been used:
In the first model with an acceptable fit (P<0.001, f=274.6), it was found that there is a positive and significant relationship between perceived stress and care burden (β=0.814), and about 66.2% of Changes in caregiving burden were explained by perceived stress.
In the second model with an acceptable fit (P<0.001, f=144.14), it was found that there is a positive and significant relationship between perceived stress and care burden (β=0.714) and a negative relationship between resilience and care burden, which is significant (β=-0.150). Also, about 67.5% of care burden changes were explained by two predictor variables entered into the model.
In the third model, according to the results, there was a positive and significant relationship between perceived stress and care burden (β=0.773) and a negative and significant relationship between resilience and care burden (β=0.110). . Also, the interactive effect of perceived stress and resilience on care burden was negative and significant. Based on the coefficient of determination, about 73% of the care burden changes were explained by the two predictor variables entered into the model and their interactive effect. The implemented regression model had an acceptable fit (P=124.33, H<0.001).
Discussion
The results of this study indicated the moderating role of resilience in the relationship between perceived stress and care burden in elderly caregivers. Therefore, according to the results, it is recommended that all governmental and non-governmental institutions providing services to the geriatrics and the elderly and health policymakers offer comprehensive services to increase the quality of services, reduce injuries caused by stress and burden of care in elderly caregivers are part of the services, and to focus on improving resilience and paying attention to internal resources of the elderly. Also, considering the importance of the concept of resilience, it is recommended to conduct interventional studies to investigate the impact of interventions in resilience on the quality of caregivers’ services, as well as the effects of these interventions on the level of anxiety, stress and care burden reported by this group. It is also suggested to pay attention to other internal and external factors that can mediate and moderate the care process in future studies.
Ethical Considerations
Compliance with ethical guidelines
The ethical considerations of the present study included the informed consent of the participants to participate in the research and the possibility of their free exit from it, confidentiality and protection of their personal information. Also, the current research was approved by the ethics committee of University of Social Welfare & Rehabilitation Sciences.
Funding
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Authors' contributions
Conceptualization: Mehsa Jafari, Fardin Alipour and Ghanche Raheb; Data collection and analysis: Mehsa Jafari; Writing of the first version: Mehsa Jafari, Fardin Alipour and Mostafa Mardani; Editing and finalization written by: Mostafa Mar
Conflicts of interest
The authors declared no conflict of interest.
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to all involved, the data collection group and all participants in the research.
References
- UN. World Population Aging 2009 [Internet]. 2010 [Updated 2010 December 19]. Availble from: [Link]
- Pasdar Y, Gharetapeh A, Pashaie T, Alghasi S, Niazi P, Haghnazari L. Nutritional status using multidimensional assessment in Iranian elderly. Journal of Kermanshah University of Medical. 2011; 15(3):e79356. [Link]
- Taheri S, Karimzadeh M, Tahsili H. [Investigating the socio-economic factors affecting life expectancy in Iran (Persian)]. Economic journal. 2017; 15(1-2):77-94. [Link]
- Scott SB, Jackson BR, Bergeman CS. What contributes to perceived stress in later life? A recursive partitioning approach. Psychology and Aging. 2011; 26(4):830-43. [DOI:10.1037/a0023180] [PMID] [PMCID]
- Khatooni M, Zohari S. [A survey on communicative problems between elders with alzheimer disease and their family caregivers (Persian)]. Salmand: Iranian Journal of Ageing. 2010; 5(17):36-42. [Link]
- Amanian D, Foroughan M, Hosseini MA. [The effect of the training program about management of elders’common problems on the level of job stress in caregivers of nursing homes (Persian)]. Journal of Research Development in Nursing and Midwifery. 2013; 10(2):54-62. [Link]
- Elahi T, Khosravi R, Rashidi Rashtabadi S, Akhavan A. [Hopefulness and mental disorders in the elderly (Persian)]. Journal of Advances in Medical and Biomedical Research. 2014; 22(92):119-25. [Link]
- Lapane KL, Hughes CM. Considering the employee point of view: Perceptions of job satisfaction and stress among nursing staff in nursing homes. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association. 2007; 8(1):8-13. [DOI:10.1016/j.jamda.2006.05.010] [PMID]
- Miyamoto Y, Tachimori H, Ito H. Formal caregiver burden in dementia: impact of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia and activities of daily living. Geriatric Nursing. 2010; 31(4):246-53. [DOI:10.1016/j.gerinurse.2010.01.002] [PMID]
- Valizadeh L, Joonbakhsh F, Pashaee S. [Determinants of care giving burden in parents of child with cancer at Tabriz children medical and training center (Persian)]. Journal of Clinical Nursing and Midwifery. 2014; 3 (2):13-20. [Link]
- Hughes TB, Black BS, Albert M, Gitlin LN, Johnson DM, Lyketsos CG, et al. Correlates of objective and subjective measures of caregiver burden among dementia caregivers: Influence of unmet patient and caregiver dementia-related care needs. International Psychogeriatrics. 2014; 26(11):1875-83. [DOI:10.1017/S1041610214001240] [PMID] [PMCID]
- Rohani H, Eslami A, Jafari-Koshki T, Raei M, Abrishamkarzadeh H, Mirshahi R, et al. The factors affecting the burden of care of informal caregivers of the elderly in Tehran. Journal of Kermanshah University of Medical. 2015; 18(12):e70731. [Link]
- Denno MS, Gillard PJ, Graham GD, DiBonaventura MD, Goren A, Varon SF, et al. Anxiety and depression associated with caregiver burden in caregivers of stroke survivors with spasticity. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. 2013; 94(9):1731-6. [DOI:10.1016/j.apmr.2013.03.014] [PMID]
- Song JA, Oh Y. The association between the burden on formal caregivers and behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) in Korean elderly in nursing homes. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing. 2015; 29(5):346-54. [DOI:10.1016/j.apnu.2015.06.004] [PMID]
- Bagherbeik Tabrizi L, Navab E, Farokhnezhad Afshar P, Asadi Noghabi AA, Haghani H. [Effect of cognitive-behavioral intervention on burden of family caregivers of patients with Alzheimer’s disease (Persian)]. Journal of Hayat. 2015; 21(1):94-102. [Link]
- Hamidi Y, Mortezaei M, Heidari Pahlavian A, Soltanian AR, Heidari Moghaddam R. [The relationship among quality of work life, participation and stress levels in health center workers (Persian)]. Iranian Journal of Ergonomics. 2015; 2(4):18-24. [Link]
- Servello A, Camellini C, Cicerchia M, Cerra E, Vigliotta MT, Vulcano A, et al. [Physical and psychological stress in a group of italian caregivers: A new medical emergency? A pilot study (Italian)]. Igiene e Sanita Pubblica. 2014; 71(5):489-98. [PMID]
- Salarvand S, Abdi HA. [Causes and motivations of elderly home residency from residents’ point of view (Persian)]. Feyz. 2008; 12(2):55-61. [Link]
- Boland DF, Stacy M. The economic and quality of life burden associated with Parkinson’s disease: A focus on symptoms. The American Journal of Managed Care. 2012; 18(7 Suppl):S168-75. [PMID]
- Stensletten K, Bruvik F, Espehaug B, Drageset J. Burden of care, social support, and sense of coherence in elderly caregivers living with individuals with symptoms of dementia. Dementia. 2016; 15(6):1422-35. [PMID]
- Khalatbari J, Bahari S. [Relationship between resilience and satisfaction of life (Persian)]. Journal of Educational Psychology. 2010; 1(2):83-94. [Link]
- Amini F. [The relationship between resiliency and burnout in nurses (Persian)]. Journal of Research Development in Nursing And Midwifery. 2013; 10(2):94-102. [Link]
- Mansouri T, Dehdari T, Seyedfatemi N, Gohari MR, Barkhordari M. [The effect of communication skills training on perceived stress of caregivers of elderly with Alzheimer’s disease referral to Iranian Alzheimer Association in 2012 (Persian)]. Razi Journal of Medical Sciences. 2014; 21(121):52-62. [Link]
- Behroozy N, Shahny M, Pourseyed SM. [The relationship between perfectionism, perceived stress and social support with academic burnout (Persian)]. Socio-Cultural Research Journal of Rahbord. 2013; 5(20):83-102. [Link]
- Rajabi-Mashhadi MT, Mashhadinejad H, Ebrahimzadeh MH, Golhasani-Keshtan F, Ebrahimi H, Zarei Z. The Zarit Caregiver Burden Interview Short Form (ZBI-12) in spouses of veterans with chronic spinal cord injury, validity and reliability of the Persian version. The Archives of Bone and Joint Surgery. 2015; 3(1):56-63. [DOI:10.22038/ABJS.2015.3795]
- Connor KM, Davidson JR. Development of a new resilience scale: The Connor-Davidson resilience scale (CD-RISC). Depression and Anxiety. 2003; 18(2):76-82. [DOI:10.1002/da.10113] [PMID]
- Mohammadi M, Jazayeri A, Rafie A, Joukar B, Pourshahbaz A. [Resilience factors in individuals at risk for substance abuse (Persian)]. Journal Of Psychology. 2006; 1(2-3):203-24. https://www.sid.ir/en/Journal/ViewPaper.aspx?ID=75843
- Jowkar B. [The mediating role of resilience in the relationship between general and emotional intelligence and life satisfaction (Persian)]. Contemporary Psychology. 2007; 2(2):3-12. [Link]
- Pourafzal F, Seyedfatemi N, Inanloo M, Haghani H. [Relationship between perceived stress with resilience among undergraduate nursing students (Persian)]. Journal of Hayat. 2013; 19(1):41-52. [Link]
- Momeni Kh, Akbari M, Atashzadeh F. [Relationship between resilience and burnout in nurses (Persian)]. Journal of Teb and Tazkieh. 2009; 17(74-75):37-47. [Link]
- Byun E, Evans LK, Sommers MS, Tkacs NC, Riegel BJ. Uncertainty Can Help Identify Risk for Stress and Burden in Caregivers of Stroke Survivors. Circulation. 2013; 128(Suppl 22):A12562-A. [DOI:10.1161/01.str.0000155690.04697.c0]
- Bastani F, Alijanpoor Agha Maleki M, Hosseini SS, Salehabadi S, Ghezelbash S. [Relationship between general health and burden in female caregivers of patients with Alzheimer disease (Persian)]. Journal of Sabzevar University of Medical Sciences. 2015; 21(6):1134-43. [Link]
- Huang SS, Lee MC, Liao YC, Wang WF, Lai TJ. Caregiver burden associated with behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) in Taiwanese elderly. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics. 2012; 55(1):55-9. [DOI:10.1016/j.archger.2011.04.009] [PMID]
- Mohamadi Shahbalaghi F. [Self- efficacy and caregiver strain in alzheimer’s caregivers (Persian)]. Salmand: Iranian Journal of Ageing. 2006; 1(1):26-33. [Link]
- Dwyer JW, Lee GR, Jankowski TB. Reciprocity, elder satisfaction, and caregiver stress and burden: The exchange of aid in the family caregiving relationship. Journal of Marriage and the Family. 1994; 56(1):35-43. [DOI:10.2307/352699]
- Uemura S, Sekido K, Tanioka T. Characteristics of male family caregivers in japan and their sense of care burden, capacity to deal with stress, and subjective sense of well-being. Health. 2014; 6(18):2444. [DOI:10.4236/health.2014.618281]
- Fianco A, Sartori RD, Negri L, Lorini S, Valle G, Delle Fave A. The relationship between burden and well-being among caregivers of Italian people diagnosed with severe neuromotor and cognitive disorders. Research in Developmental Disabilities. 2015; 39:43-54. [DOI:10.1016/j.ridd.2015.01.006] [PMID]
- Huang MF, Huang WH, Su YC, Hou SY, Chen HM, Yeh YC, et al. Coping strategy and caregiver burden among caregivers of patients with dementia. American Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease & Other Dementias. 2015; 30(7):694-8. [DOI:10.1177/1533317513494446] [PMID]
- Wilks SE, Vonk ME. Private prayer among Alzheimer’s caregivers: mediating burden and resiliency. Journal of Gerontological Social Work. 2008; 50(3-4):113-31. [PMID]
- Scott CB. Alzheimer’s disease caregiver burden: Does resilience matter? Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment. 2013; 23(8):879-92. [DOI:10.1080/10911359.2013.803451]
- Chen X, Mao Y, Kong L, Li G, Xin M, Lou F, et al. Resilience moderates the association between stigma and psychological distress among family caregivers of patients with schizophrenia. Personality and Individual Differences. 2016; 96:78-82. [DOI:10.1016/j.paid.2016.02.062]
- Wilks SE, Croom B. Perceived stress and resilience in Alzheimer’s disease caregivers: Testing moderation and mediation models of social support. Aging and Mental Health. 2008; 12(3):357-65. [PMID]
- Mulud ZA, McCarthy G. Caregiver burden among caregivers of individuals with severe mental illness: Testing the moderation and mediation models of resilience. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing. 2017; 31(1):24-30. [PMID]