Objectives: Research on life stressors and adverse life events has a long tradition.
Few studies have addressed this topic in connection to very old people. Life stressors,
especially major life stressors (MLSs) experienced by clients of home care services in the
community have rarely been the subject of studies. Considering this gap, we investigated
the prevalence of MLSs in home care clients. We examined the effects that MLSs have
on their mood and health status as well as the impact of clients’ social resources on
MLSs and their outcomes.
Method: We used assessment data from 2,884 home care clients in six European
countries. The methodological basis was the comprehensive and standardized interRAI
Home Care Assessment (interRAI HC).
Results: Fifteen point four percent of the sample—that consisted of women and men
with an average age of 82.89 years–experienced an MLS in the last 6 months before the
assessment. They were more depressed than persons without these experiences, and
their health status indicated a higher level of instability and deterioration. At reassessment
after 6 months, the situation changed. Despite the fact that both outcomes of the MLSs,
depression and health status became worse in the reassessment-sample, home care
clients without MLS were more affected by the worsening, especially that of depression.
The expected buffering impact of social resources was low.
Discussion: Although this study worked with limited information on MLSs, it could
contribute to closing various knowledge gaps. The study shows that the MLSs represent
a prevalent problem in a population of home care clients and that this problem
has negative consequences for their mood and the stability of their health status.
Furthermore, this research took up the situation of very old and vulnerable adults,
who have previously rarely been considered in studies on major critical life events
and stressors.
Conclusion and Research Perspective: Future research on MLSs has to take
up the issue of the time passage between the MLS and the impact on health and
well-being of individuals dependent on care. It has to determine immediate as well as later
consequences and identify those factors that are appropriate to reduce the MLS-effects
on very old people dependent on care.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:DRESDEN/oai:qucosa:de:qucosa:84313 |
| Date | 24 March 2023 |
| Creators | Garms-Homolová, Vjenka, Declercq, Anja, Finne-Soveri, Harriet, Notthoff, Nanna, van der Roest, Henriëtte G., van Hout, Hein P. J. |
| Publisher | Frontiers Research Foundation |
| Source Sets | Hochschulschriftenserver (HSSS) der SLUB Dresden |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion, doc-type:article, info:eu-repo/semantics/article, doc-type:Text |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
| Relation | 2296-858X, 522410 |
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