American Association of Retired Persons Caregiving Studies, 1983-1990

Creator:
Duke University. Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development.
Scope and content:

Includes materials pertaining to the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP). Between 1982 and 1990, Linda K. George, PhD had four grants from AARP to study the family caregivers of memory-impaired older adults. This was the beginning of caregiver research in gerontology, which has now become a staple of aging research. The four grants built upon each other and became an integrated research program that demonstrated the negative physical and mental health consequences of caregiver stress and included clinical trials to determine the efficacy of interventions intended to reduce caregiver burden. The first study was cross-sectional and examined the correlates of caregiver burden, with special emphasis on relationships between participation in community self-help groups and caregiver well-being. The second study focused on follow-up surveys of caregivers who participated in the first study. It was the first study in the field to examine changes in caregiver well-being and the predictors of increases and decreases in caregiver burden. The third study was a clinical trial to determine the extent to which subsidized respite care for family caregivers lessened caregiver burden. The most interesting finding of this study was that a majority of family caregivers refused the receipt of respite care despite the fact that these some caregivers stated that the most valuable service they needed was respite care. An important part of this study was identifying the obstacles family caregivers faced in accepting respite services. The fourth and final study also was a clinical trial to determine whether an intervention could help caregivers overcome their concerns and other obstacles that prevented them from accepting services that they badly needed. Materials date from 1983 to 1990.

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This collection may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals or IRB approval may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which Duke University assumes no responsibility.
Contains Medical Center Administrative records. These include records of the officers of the University, as defined in the Bylaws, the deans of schools and colleges, and departments, institutes, and other offices as designated by the President. For a period of twenty-five years from the origin of the material, permission in writing from the director of the office of record and the Medical Center Archivist is required for use. After twenty-five years, records that have been processed may be consulted with the permission of the Medical Center Archivist. (Issued by the Office of the Chancellor, December 1, 1975).
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