2022 MiOTA Annual Conference

Caregivers of people who are aging comprise the largest group of caregivers and tend to maintain their role for the longest amount of time, second to parent caregivers of children. It’s recognized that caring for a person who is aging can result in stress, depression and anxiety. The role of caregiving is widely stigmatized as burdensome and undesirable, with variance across this perspective having been examined only through the lens of differing cultural expectations. Twenty percent of individuals spend on average 40 hours per week caregiving for an aging person. The limited research that exists suggests that potential and actual caregivers presumed there were benefits to providing care, however people who were undecided or unwilling to become caregivers perceived fewer gains and more losses in the role. The purpose of this phenomenological study is to identify common themes based on the perceived “burden” on caregiving for individuals who are aging.