Informal care for frail elders: the role of secondary caregivers

When designing studies of informal caregiving to the frail elderly, researchers have tended to focus on primary caregivers under the assumption that one person tends to take on most, if not all, of the caregiving responsibility. However, many elders report that they have more than one caregiver. In addition to supplementing the care that the primary caregiver provides, the secondary caregiver may act as a 'backup' for the first. An ongoing longitudinal study in Massachusetts is being conducted as a means of gathering data on caregiving and informal caregivers. One unique aspect of the study is that data are being gathered regarding primary and secondary caregivers, their identities, and their roles. Four hundred twenty-nine primary caregivers were interviewed by telephone to obtain sociodemographic information and information regarding up to three secondary caregivers. About 75 percent of the sample reported the presence of secondary caregivers; most reported from two to four. Spouses as primary caregivers were less likely to rely on secondary caregivers than primary caregivers who were children or others. The majority of secondary caregivers (61 percent) were women; they were slightly younger than primary caregivers, and less likely to be married and more likely to be employed. Secondary caregivers tended to provide supplementary care rather than complementary care. That is, rather than picking up tasks the primary caregiver usually does, secondary caregivers enhance the tasks that the primary caregiver performs. Secondary caregivers also spend much less time on caregiving than primary caregivers. Most important to note is that the presence of secondary caregivers does not substantially enhance the type and amount of care received by the frail elder, and formal services are as likely or more likely to be used by elders who have secondary caregivers. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)