Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32822072›Full record

ArticleJournal of the American Geriatrics Society2020

Family Caregivers of Veterans Experience High Levels of Burden, Distress, and Financial Strain.

Megan Shepherd-Banigan, Sophia R Sherman, Jennifer H Lindquist, Katherine E M Miller, Matthew Tucker, Valerie A Smith, Courtney Harold Van Houtven

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
22citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
4.6field-weighted citation impact, top 5% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

22 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 39 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Review
  4. Article
  5. The health and well-being of older Veterans in Canada: A scoping review.Journal of military, veteran and family health · 2026
    Article
  6. Urban Versus Rural Differences in Services Requested, Received, and Interest Expressed Among Informal Caregivers of Older U.S. Veterans.The Journal of rural health : official journal of the American Rural Health Association and the National Rural Health Care Association · 2026
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  20. Individual and program Characteristics May Drive Variability in Outcomes After Caregivers Participate in a Tailored Support Intervention.Journal of applied gerontology : the official journal of the Southern Gerontological Society · 2022
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Megan Shepherd-BaniganCenter of Innovation to Accelerate Discovery and Practice Transformation (ADAPT), Durham Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
Sophia R ShermanCenter of Innovation to Accelerate Discovery and Practice Transformation (ADAPT), Durham Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
Jennifer H LindquistCenter of Innovation to Accelerate Discovery and Practice Transformation (ADAPT), Durham Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
Katherine E M MillerCenter of Innovation to Accelerate Discovery and Practice Transformation (ADAPT), Durham Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
Matthew TuckerCenter of Innovation to Accelerate Discovery and Practice Transformation (ADAPT), Durham Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
Valerie A SmithCenter of Innovation to Accelerate Discovery and Practice Transformation (ADAPT), Durham Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
Courtney Harold Van HoutvenCenter of Innovation to Accelerate Discovery and Practice Transformation (ADAPT), Durham Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
Durham VA Health Care System · USDuke University · US

Funding

VA Caregiver Support Evaluation Center (VA-CARES Evaluation Center)I50HX001676 · VA · DURHAM VA MEDICAL CENTER · PI VAN HOUTVEN, COURTNEY HAROLD · 2015 to 2023
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HSRD VA I50 HX001676HSRD VA IK2 HX002591VA
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND/

objectivesTo describe the caregiving experiences and physical and emotional needs of family members and friends who provide care to veterans with mental, physical, and cognitive comorbidities.

designCross-sectional study.

settingNational telephone surveys administered from 2017 to 2019.

participantsFamily caregivers of veterans enrolled in the Veterans Affairs (VA) Program of General Caregiver Support Services between October 2016 and July 2018 who responded to a telephone survey (N = 1,509; response rate = 39%). MEASUREMENTS: We examined caregiver burden, depressive symptoms, financial strain, satisfaction with care, amount and duration of caregiving, life chaos, loneliness, and integration of caregiver with the healthcare team using validated instruments. We also collected caregiver demographic and socioeconomic characteristics and asked caregivers to identify the veteran's condition(s) and provide an assessment of the veteran's functioning.

resultsAverage caregiver age was 62.2 (standard deviation [SD] = 13.7) and 69.8 (SD = 15.6) for veterans. Among caregivers, 76.7% identified at White, and 79.9% were married to the veteran. Caregivers reported having provided care for an average of 6.4 years and spending on average 9.6 hours per day and 6.6 days per week providing care. Average Zarit Subjective Burden score was 21.8 (SD = 9.4; range = 0-47), which is well above the cutoff for clinically significant burden (>16). Caregivers reported high levels of depressive symptoms; the sample average Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression 10-item Scale score was 11.5 (SD = 7.1; range = 0-30). Caregivers also reported high levels of loneliness and financial strain.

conclusionCaregivers who care for veterans with trauma-based comorbidities reported intensive caregiving and significant levels of distress, depressive symptoms, and other negative consequences. These caregivers require comprehensive support services including access to health care, financial assistance, and enhanced respite care. Planned expansion of VA caregiver support has the potential to provide positive benefits for this population and serve as a model for caregiver support programs outside the VA health care system.

Indexed as

AdultAgedAged, 80 and overCaregiver BurdenCross-Sectional StudiesDepressionFamilyFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPsychological DistressSurveys and QuestionnairesUnited StatesUnited States Department of Veterans AffairsVeteranscaregivercaregiver supportfamily caregiverinformal caregiverveteran

Identifiers

PMID32822072
PMCPMC9677618
OpenAlexW3080533750

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.