Caregiver role strain in caring for vulnerable persons living with HIV: correlates of caregiver and care recipient reports

ABSTRACT

Informal care of family and friends is important for the health and well-being of disadvantaged persons living with HIV (PLWH). Caregiver role strain may threaten the function and continuity of their main relationships and their health impacts. Data were from a disadvantaged, primarily African American, sample of PLWH care recipients. Caregiver role strain was operationalized as a latent factor measured by variables including PLWH’s perceptions of their caregiver not wanting or complaining about helping them or wanting a break. We found that greater caregiver role strain was associated with higher levels of HIV-related stigma and depressive symptoms. Lower role strain was associated with more collaborative problem solving and shared medical treatment decision-making. Caregiver role strain was linked to disadvantaged PLWHs’ worse stigma and mental health; collaborative engagement in care and coping assistance were protective of role strain. Caregiving relationship-focused research and interventions are needed for resourcing and sustaining disadvantaged African American communities’ caregiving and health.

KEYWORDS:

• Caregiver/ caregiving role strain
• Black or African American race/ethnicity
• HIV/AIDS
• stigma
• depression/depressive symptoms
• social support networks

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Compliance with ethical standards

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by grants DA019413-01 and R01 NR14050-01 from the National Institutes of Health, and Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) grant 1P30 AI094189.