Caregiving Burden Among Caregivers of People With Dementia Through the Lens of Intersectionality

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Caregivers may be at different risks of various types of burdens by virtue of their gender and racial/ethnic status. This article explores the differences in caregiving burdens across the intersectionality of race and gender. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Using Round 5 (conducted in 2015) and Round 7 (conducted in 2017) of National Study of Caregiving and National Health and Aging Trends Study data, the study examined differences in caregiver burdens across and within different gender and racial/ethnic groups, within the realms of financial, emotional, and physical burdens. The sample consisted of 1,206 caregivers who provided services to Medicare beneficiaries. Logistic regressions were performed to assess the 3 types of burdens each subgroup was experiencing. RESULTS: Results indicated that within the intersectionality framework, compared to White female caregivers, Black male caregivers were 3.3 times (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.77-6.22) more likely to experience financial burden, and Black female caregivers were 54% less likely to experience physical burden. Surprisingly, compared to White female caregivers, all the other groups were 37% (95% CI 0.41-0.95) to 71% (95% CI 0.15-0.56) less likely to have emotional burden. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: The findings highlighted that Black male caregivers are experiencing financial burden and White female caregivers are experiencing emotional burden disproportionately. To develop effective interventions and programs for dementia caregivers, a special focus should be put on monitoring the differences in the types of burdens that the above-mentioned population subgroups experience.