Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37853272›Full record

ArticleInternational journal of behavioral medicine2024

Social Connectedness and Perceived Stress Among Caregivers During the COVID-19 Pandemic: a Mixed-Methods Study.

Ellen Xiang, Maria Lizette Rangel, Hoda Badr

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Article in International journal of behavioral medicine, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

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2citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Ellen XiangDepartment of Medicine, Section of Epidemiology and Population Science, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, USA.
Maria Lizette RangelDepartment of Medicine, Section of Epidemiology and Population Science, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, USA.
Hoda BadrDepartment of Medicine, Section of Epidemiology and Population Science, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, USA. Hoda.Badr@bcm.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4549-9111

Funding

Tumor BiologyP30CA125123 · NCI · BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE · PI DAVID R ROWLEY · 2007 to 2026
$73.9M
NCI NIH HHS P30 CA125123NHLBI NIH HHS 20-312-0217571-66102LNHLBI NIH HHS RF 50087-2021-0309-S9
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented stressors for caregivers due to social distancing requirements that simultaneously increased their responsibilities and reduced opportunities for social connection and support. This concurrent embedded mixed-methods study examined differences between caregivers and non-caregivers regarding the effects of social connectedness on perceived stress and explored challenges caregivers experienced related to social connectedness and perceived stress.

methodA national online survey containing forced-choice and free-response questions was administered between April and June 2020. The survey was distributed via social media advertisements and a crowdsourcing platform to eligible adult residents in the United States (US) fluent in either English or Spanish. Multivariable regression and thematic analysis were used to analyze the quantitative and qualitative data. Mixed-methods integration occurred during the data analysis, interpretation, and reporting phases.

resultsThe study sample comprised 1540 US adults (1275 non-caregivers, 265 caregivers; 65% women; 36% racial/ethnic minorities). Relative to non-caregivers, caregivers had lower levels of social connectedness and higher levels of perceived stress. Social connectedness was also inversely related to perceived stress for non-caregivers (p < 0.001) and slightly but not significantly positively related to perceived stress for caregivers. Qualitative findings showed caregivers experienced a variety of stressors including fear of COVID-19 exposure to their care recipients, disruption to usual care routines, and difficulty accessing healthcare services that may have contributed to decrements in social connectedness and higher levels of perceived stress.

conclusionFindings suggest social connectedness may be beneficial for reducing perceived stress, but its impact can vary depending on individual circumstances. Overall, findings support the idea that caregivers are a particularly vulnerable sub-group of the population and may benefit from more targeted support and interventions.

Indexed as

CaregiversCOVID-19Stress, PsychologicalAdultAgedFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedSARS-CoV-2Social SupportSurveys and QuestionnairesUnited StatesCaregiversCOVID-19Psychological stressSocial support

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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.