This document discusses caregiver burnout and provides strategies to mitigate it. It defines burnout as physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion resulting from prolonged stress. Both professional and unpaid caregivers can experience burnout. Risk factors include social isolation, depression, financial difficulties, and lack of self-care. Warning signs include withdrawing from others and changes in sleep and health. Assessment tools can identify burnout levels. The document recommends caregivers schedule personal time, seek help, and participate in self-care activities to prevent burnout.

1. CAREGIVER
BURNOUT
JONATHAN BRODY
TAMG HEALTHCARE
2015
The Challenges that Face Caregivers and Some
Recommended “Burnout” Mitigation Strategies

2. DEFINING BURNOUT
Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines burnout as:
“exhaustion of physical or emotional strength usually as a result of
prolonged stress or frustration”.
Web MD has their own customized definition for caregiver:
“Caregiver burnout is a state of physical, emotional, and mental
exhaustion that may be accompanied by a change in attitude --
from positive and caring to negative and unconcerned.”
The most complete definition I found (Zarit):
“The extent to which caregivers perceive that
caregiving has an adverse effect on their emotional ,
social, financial, physical and spiritual functioning”

3. SEPARATING THE
PROFESSIONAL FROM
LAY CAREGIVERS
Both professional and
lay caregivers
experience burnout.
The professional in senior
care can easily become
overwhelmed by the number
of patients, chronic/acute
conditions and the fact that as
the patients age, they are
fighting a losing battle.
However, as professionals
they are (should) be better
able to prepare and when the
work day ends….
Family and Friends are not as well
prepared….
• Taking care of the aging puts a vast
array of stressors on the caregiver
• They rarely have a clear “endpoint”
and are filled with emotions
This presentation focuses on
those who provide unpaid,
often untrained, assistance
(both medical and non) to a
loved one with a chronic
illness.

4. SOME KEY STATS
 More than 43.5 million unpaid caregivers provide care to someone age 50 and older who is ill or has a disability
 An estimated 21% of households in the United States are impacted by caregiving responsibilities
 Unpaid caregivers provide an estimated 90% of the long-term care
 The typical caregiver is a 46 year old woman with some college experience and provides more than 20 hours of
care each week to her mother
 The out-of-pocket costs for caregivers who are caring for someone who was age 50 or older averaged $5,531 in
2007. About 37% of caregivers for someone age 50 and older reduced their work hours or quit their job in 2007
 Caregivers report having difficulty finding time for one’s self (35%), managing emotional and physical stress
(29%), and balancing work and family responsibilities (29%)
 About 73% of surveyed caregivers said praying helps them cope with caregiving stress, 61% said that they talk
with or seek advice from friends or relatives, and 44% read about caregiving in books or other materials
 About 30% said they need help keeping the person they care for safe and 27% would like to find easy activities
to do with the person they care for
 Half (53%) of caregivers who said their health had gotten worse due to caregiving also said the decline in their
health has affected their ability to provide care
 Caregivers said they do not go to the doctor because they put their family’s needs first (67% said that is a major
reason), or they put the care recipient’s needs over their own (57%). More than half (51%) said they do not have
time to take care of themselves and almost half (49%) said they are too tired to do so

5. CAREGIVER BURDEN
CAN KILL OR…
63%Caregiver burden Identified as an
independent predictor of
caregiver risk of death
Caregiver financial burden for just
dementia care per patient
annually
$56,290
81%Caregivers that have experienced
fatigue, frustration, and stress as
a result of caregiving
Felt despair as a result of the
caregiving experience, and 2/3
said it put a strain on their
marriage
2/3

6. RISK FACTORS AND
CATALYSTS EQUAL BAD
OUTCOMES
 Being female
 Having fewer years of
formal education
 Living with the person
you are caring for
 Social isolation
 Having depression
 Financial difficulties
 Higher number of
hours spent
caregiving
 Lack of coping skills
and difficulty solving
problems
 Lack of choice in
being a caregiver
 Patient Dementia
 Patient Cancer
 High Patient Stress
 Lack of Self Care
 Concerns over Ability
 Verbal Abuse
 Self Realization of
Mortality
 Personal health
 Employment status
B
U
R
N
O
U
T
 Caregiver
Illness
 Lapses in
Care
 Anxiety/Dep
ression
 Isolation
 Bankruptcy
 Divorce
 Substance
abuse

7. WARNING SIGNS
Warning signs of full-blown case of caregiver burnout according to
WebMD:
 Withdrawing from friends and family
 Loss of interest in activities
 Feeling blue, irritable, or hopeless
 Losing or gaining weight
 Changes in sleep patterns
 Immunity – getting sick more often
 Wanting to hurt self or the person cared for
 Increased Alcohol or Drug use
 Feeling Isolated

8. SOME ASSESSMENT
TOOLS*
 Zarit Burden Inventory and Short Form Burden Interview
 Caregiver Burden Scale
 Caregiver Distress Activities
 Caregiver Strain Index
 Caregiver Stress Scale
 Cost of Care Index
 Montgomery Burden Interview
 Perceived Caregiver Burden Scale
 Perceived Stress Scale
* Post – references, there is a guide on where to find these measures

9. INTERVENTIONAL
SMALL STEPS
What Caregivers should
do for themselves:
 Schedule time for
yourself
 Shares their feelings
 Use community
resources
 Asks for help
 Eat smart and exercise
 Attend to their spiritual
health
What we can do for them:
 Speak regularly with the patient's
caregivers
 Be available to talk with caregivers in
times of need
 Simplify the management regimen as
much as possible
 Be sensitive to the frequency of clinic or
laboratory appointments and the amount
of time spent waiting at visits
 Recommend that caregivers seek and
regularly spend time away from the
caregiver role
 Provide information about community
support services and refer caregivers to
appropriate community services

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12.Agingcare.com
13. Mayoclinic.com
REFERENCES AND RESOURCES

11. ASSESSMENT TOOL DIRECTORY
 Zarit Burden Inventory and Short Form Burden Interview - http://rgps.on.ca/giic/GiiC/pdfs/Appendix%201%20-
%20Zarit%20Burden%20Interview.pdf Zarit, S. H., Reever, K.E., & Bach-Peterson, J. (1980). Relatives of the
impaired elderly: Correlates of feelings of burden. The Gerontologist, 20, 649-655
 Caregiver Burden Scale - http://www.fullcirclecare.org/caregiverissues/health/burden.html Novak, M., &
Guest, C. (1989). Application of a multidimensional Caregiver Burden Inventory. The Gerontologist, 29,
798-803.
 Caregiver Distress Activities - Pearlin, L. I., Mullan, J. T., Semple, S. J., & Skaff, M. M. (1990). Caregiving
and the stress process: An overview of concepts and their measures. The Gerontologist, 30(5), 583-594
 Caregiver Strain Index - http://consultgerirn.org/uploads/File/Caregiver%20Strain%20Index.pdf Robinson,
B. C. (1983). Validation of a caregiver strain index. Journal of Gerontology, 38, 344-348
 Caregiver Stress Scale - Pearlin, L. I., Mullan, J. T., Semple, S. J., & Skaff, M. M. (1990). Caregiving and the
stress process: An overview of concepts and their measures. The Gerontologist, 30(5), 583-594
 Cost of Care Index - Kosberg, J. I., & Cairl, R. E. (1986). The cost of care index: A case management tool for
screening informal care providers. The Gerontologist, 26, 273-278
 Montgomery Burden Interview - Montgomery, R., Gonyea, J. G., & Hooyman, N. R. (1985). Caregiving and
the experience of subjective and objective burden. Family Relations, 34, 19-26. & Montgomery, R., Stull, D.
E., & Borgatta, E. F. (1985). Measurement and the analysis of burden. Research on Aging, 7, 329-361.
 Perceived Caregiver Burden Scale- Stommel, M., Given, C. W., & Given, B. (1990). Depression as an
overriding variable explaining caregiver burdens. Journal of Aging and Health, 2, 81-102
 Perceived Stress Scalehttp://www.memic.unimaas.nl:8888/daisy/SMILE-CMS/300-
SMILE/version/1/part/6/data/perceived_stress_scale.pdf?branch=main&language=default Cohen, S.,
Kamarck, T., & Mermelstein, R. (1983). A global measure of perceived stress. Journal of Health and Social
Behavior, 24, 385-396