Who Is Caring for the Caregiver? The Role of Cybercoping for Dementia Caregivers

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between dementia caregivers’ communication behaviors (information seeking and forwarding) and their outcomes (coping outcomes: e.g., dealing better with negative feelings or improved medical outcomes). A survey data set of dementia patients’ caregivers substantiates the effects of communication behaviors about dementia illness on coping outcomes, as well as the mediating role of emotion-focused and problem-focused coping processes. Using structural equation modeling (SEM), this study found positive effects of communication behaviors on outcomes through coping processes. Further, the results indicate that communication behaviors in cyberspace are crucial for caregivers to cope with dementia, both affectively (improvement of caregivers’ emotional control) and physically (health improvement of patients). The implications for the improvement of public health through online health communication behaviors are discussed.

Funding

This study was supported by Hallym University (grant number HRF-201408-008) and by a National Research Foundation of Korea grant funded by the Korean Government (grant number NRF-2015S1A3A2046760).

Notes

¹ In the United Stated States, 15.9 million caregivers are family members and other unpaid caregivers who spend 21.9 hours per week on average in caregiving, a contribution valued at more than $221.3 billion in 2015 (Alzheimer’s Association, 2016). United Kingdom censuses reported that the number of nonprofessional caregivers has steadily increased from 2001 to 2011, and 16.8% of caregivers provide at least 50 hours per week caring for dementia patients (Department of Health, 2010).

² Our cutoff point of 18 months was chosen because prior studies that follow up patients’ conditions or behavior changes about illness used 18 months as a cutoff (e.g., Unverzagt et al., 2001).

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by Hallym University (grant number HRF-201408-008) and by a National Research Foundation of Korea grant funded by the Korean Government (grant number NRF-2015S1A3A2046760).