Other Titles
Rising Star Poster/Presentation - Rapid Presentation Round
Abstract
More than 6.7 million American older adults are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and related dementias (Alzheimer’s Association, 2023). Caregivers for community dwelling persons living with dementia (PWD) are usually family members such as a spouse or offspring. Resources such as adult day care centers, in-home supportive services, and family support groups were widely used before the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the California ‘Stay-At-Home’ administrative order during the early pandemic, such necessary support services were forced to close.
The purpose of this study was to identify similarities and differences in caregiving experiences between Latino caregivers and non-Hispanic White caregivers of community dwelling persons with dementia (PWD) during the “Stay-At-Home” administrative order in California. For three months, caregivers received a telephone based intervention from UC Irvine bilingual nursing students who acted as research assistants. These students provided compassionate support to the caregivers through telephone. They guided clients through stress alleviation exercises, and checked in on participants' experience through the early pandemic. These conversations were then documented in call logs. The call logs of ten participants were analyzed, including six Latino and four Caucasian caregivers. Each case contained eight to ten weekly logs, resulting in about ninety logs to be reviewed through a thematic analysis.
The results of this analysis yielded several similarities and key differences between the groups. Latino caregivers reported more incidences of financial strain, lack of support, and distress than their Caucasian counterparts. However all caregivers, regardless of race, reported fear of the virus and uncertainty about the future. Common themes among both groups included experiencing caregiver burden, anxiety, stress, frustration, loneliness, and powerlessness. The findings of this analysis display how social determinants impacted the experiences of latino and caucasian caregivers of persons with dementia during the covid-19 pandemic. While the pandemic stay at home order created increased burden for all caregivers regardless of their background, it is evident that latino caregivers of persons with dementia experienced more obstacles related to stress and financial strain. They had less resources and support available to them, making their experience during the early pandemic much more difficult than their counterparts. These findings highlight the importance of a further need to help mitigate the gap of support that exists for minority caregivers.
Notes
References:
Lee, Jung-Ah, et al. “A culturally and linguistically appropriate telephone support intervention for diverse family caregivers of persons with dementia during the COVID-19 pandemic.” Journal of Family Nursing, vol. 28, no. 3, 2022, pp. 231–242, https://doi.org/10.1177/10748407221106531.
2023 Alzheimer’s Association. “Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures.” Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia, www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/facts-figures. Accessed 4 Dec. 2023.
Sigma Membership
Non-member
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Other
Keywords:
Caregivers, Dementia, Hispanic Americans, Caregiver Burden, Lived Experiences, COVID-19 Pandemic
Recommended Citation
Ross, Alexis, "Caregiving Experiences of Latino and Caucasian Dementia Caregivers Amid Pandemic" (2026). Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE). 45.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/chwe/2024/presentations_2024/45
Conference Name
Creating Healthy Work Environments
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Washington, DC, USA
Conference Year
2024
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2026-02-17
Caregiving Experiences of Latino and Caucasian Dementia Caregivers Amid Pandemic
Washington, DC, USA
More than 6.7 million American older adults are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and related dementias (Alzheimer’s Association, 2023). Caregivers for community dwelling persons living with dementia (PWD) are usually family members such as a spouse or offspring. Resources such as adult day care centers, in-home supportive services, and family support groups were widely used before the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the California ‘Stay-At-Home’ administrative order during the early pandemic, such necessary support services were forced to close.
The purpose of this study was to identify similarities and differences in caregiving experiences between Latino caregivers and non-Hispanic White caregivers of community dwelling persons with dementia (PWD) during the “Stay-At-Home” administrative order in California. For three months, caregivers received a telephone based intervention from UC Irvine bilingual nursing students who acted as research assistants. These students provided compassionate support to the caregivers through telephone. They guided clients through stress alleviation exercises, and checked in on participants' experience through the early pandemic. These conversations were then documented in call logs. The call logs of ten participants were analyzed, including six Latino and four Caucasian caregivers. Each case contained eight to ten weekly logs, resulting in about ninety logs to be reviewed through a thematic analysis.
The results of this analysis yielded several similarities and key differences between the groups. Latino caregivers reported more incidences of financial strain, lack of support, and distress than their Caucasian counterparts. However all caregivers, regardless of race, reported fear of the virus and uncertainty about the future. Common themes among both groups included experiencing caregiver burden, anxiety, stress, frustration, loneliness, and powerlessness. The findings of this analysis display how social determinants impacted the experiences of latino and caucasian caregivers of persons with dementia during the covid-19 pandemic. While the pandemic stay at home order created increased burden for all caregivers regardless of their background, it is evident that latino caregivers of persons with dementia experienced more obstacles related to stress and financial strain. They had less resources and support available to them, making their experience during the early pandemic much more difficult than their counterparts. These findings highlight the importance of a further need to help mitigate the gap of support that exists for minority caregivers.
Description
The purpose of this study was to identify similarities and differences in caregiving experiences between Latino caregivers and non-Hispanic White caregivers of community dwelling persons with dementia (PWD) during the “Stay-At-Home” administrative order in California.