Abstract

AFONSO, Rosa Marina; TOMAZ, Tatiana; BRANDAO, Daniela  and  RIBEIRO, Óscar. Profiling centenarians’ informal carers: An exploratory study in the Beira Interior region (Portugal). Aná. Psicológica [online]. 2019, vol.37, n.2, pp.147-160. ISSN 0870-8231.  https://doi.org/10.14417/ap.1482.

The number of centenarians is unprecedented and their informal caregivers are in general direct relatives who present an advanced age themselves. This study aims to explore the relationship between caregivers’ wellbeing (health quality of life, burden and satisfaction) and the full length of the care provided, the caregivers’ gender, and the centenarians’ characteristics. Fifty caregiving dyads participated in this study: 12 men and 38 women with a 68.75-year-old median age (SD=8.64) who were main carers and 50 centenarians aged between 100 and 106 years old (M=101.08; DP=1.43). The PT100 - Oporto Centenarian Study data collection protocol was used. Most caregivers were the centenarian’s children (64%), who dedicated, on average, 15 hours a day to their caregiving duties. Women caregivers presented higher burden levels and showed a more positive view about their health status than male caregivers. Caregivers who perceived their income as “insufficient” and those providing care to centenarians showing higher levels of dependency presented greater subjective burden. These results point to the need for health and community responses adapted to the specificities of these care providers who, for the most part, also face their own aging process.

Keywords : Centenarians; Informal caregivers; Burden; Longevity.

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