Burden among caregivers of service members and veterans following traumatic brain injury

ABSTRACT

Objectives: To determine the (a) health status and caregiving appraisal and (b) influence of perceived burden on health and appraisal in a sample of caregivers helping service member/veterans (SMVs) following a traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Methods: Participants were caregivers (N = 283, female = 96.1%, 86.2% = spouse/partner) of SMVs who sustained a mild–severe or penetrating TBI. Participants completed the Caregiver Appraisal Scale (CAS) and the SF-36v2 Health Survey (SF-36v2). Participants were divided into three burden groups: high, neutral, and low.

Results: Almost half the sample (48.8%) reported negative feelings on the CAS Perceived Burden scale. A substantial proportion had lower scores than a normative sample on four SF-36v2 physical health scales (35.1–64.5%) and four mental health scales (70.7–79.8%). A significant main effect was found across caregiver burden groups on three CAS scales (p = 0.010 to p < 0.001), two SF-36v2 component scores (all ps < 0.001), and eight SF-36v2 scales (p = 0.001 to p < 0.001). Caregivers with high perceived burden reported significantly worse scores, except CAS Caregiving Ideology. All CAS and SF-36v2 scales were significant predictors of CAS Perceived Burden scores (all ps< 0.001), with the SF-36v2 Social Functioning scale accounting for the most variance (32.6%).

Conclusions: Health care and social services are needed for caregivers who help SMVs to foster resilience, wellness, and growth.

KEYWORDS:

• Caregiver
• burden
• service member veteran
• traumatic brain injury
• polytrauma
• post-traumatic stress

Acknowledgments

Portions of these data were presented at the International Brain Injury Association annual conference, New Orleans, Louisiana, March 2017.

The authors would like to express gratitude to the caregivers for their time and commitment each year to participating in the larger 15-Year Longitudinal Caregiver Study. Special thanks also go to the community organizations who offer their time and services to publicize the studies to the caregiver community.

The authors would like to acknowledge the efforts of the larger team of research management coordinators, research data coordinator, research associates, research assistants, programme managers, and senior management, who contribute to the success of the 15-Year Longitudinal TBI Study (Sec. 721 NDAA FY2007).

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Declaration

The views, opinions, and/or findings contained in this article are those of the authors and should not be construed as an official Department of Defense position, policy, or decision unless so designated by other official documentation.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center.