4.1 The impact of caring on physical health

Read the quote from Martin, a carer, in Figure 5.

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Figure 5 Martin reflects on the impact of caring on his health

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A speech bubble displaying the quote:

‘I know that the role of the immune system is to protect the body from illness and allergies by providing a line of defence. However, with the stressors associated with full time caring, I was more susceptible to infection and illness, as I found out when I contracted Scarlet Fever.

This severely reduced my capacity to provide care, resulting in the extremely reluctant decision of Mum being moved to respite while I recovered. I still feel guilt from finding myself in that position.’ (Martin, carer)

Figure 5 Martin reflects on the impact of caring on his health

In the quote, Martin highlights the impact the stress of caring had on his immune system, making him vulnerable to contracting illness. Carers also report many other physical health symptoms such as those illustrated in Figure 6.

Figure 6 Physical health symptoms reported by carers, associated with their caring role (Sandford, Johnson, & Townsend-Rocchiccioli, 2005; National Alliance for Caring, 2012; Hayes, Chapman, Young, and Rittman, 2009; Hartke, King, Heinemann, and Semik, 2006)

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Five physical health symptoms reported by carers: fatigue/exhaustion; backache; contusions; headache; muscle strain.

Figure 6 Physical health symptoms reported by carers, associated with their caring role (Sandford, Johnson, & Townsend-Rocchiccioli, ...

Figure 6 indicates that musculoskeletal health (e.g. muscle strains, backache) is particularly prevalent amongst carers. It is likely that caring responsibilities such as repositioning, bathing and dressing can increase the potential risk of this type of musculoskeletal injury. Research suggests that there are three key factors that influence the musculoskeletal health of a carer: the person – the characteristics of the carer and the care recipient; the environment and the physical requirements of the caring activities (Darragh et al., 2015; Figure 7).

Figure 7 Factors influencing the musculoskeletal health of carers (adapted from Darragh et al., 2015, p.748)

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Venn diagram showing three circles overlapping one another.

The three circles are labelled:

1. Person: Carer and care recipient characteristics
2. Environment: Characteristics of the physical environment
3. Activity: Physical requirements of caring activities.

In the centre where all three overlap it is labelled ‘Carer musculoskeletal health’.

Figure 7 Factors influencing the musculoskeletal health of carers (adapted from Darragh et al., 2015, p.748)

Research by Darragh et al. (2015), which examined the health of 46 carers of adults with a physical disability, reported that approximately 94% of carers reported musculoskeletal discomfort in at least one body part during the preceding four weeks and 79% perceived that caring either caused or made their symptoms worse. Eighty-two percent of the carers experienced musculoskeletal discomfort in more than one body part in the preceding four weeks, with the lower back being the site of most discomfort, and over half indicated that their symptoms affected work (54.1%), caring (56.4%), and other life activities (66.7%).

Having considered the physical demands of the caring role, you will now examine the psychological and emotional demands.