THE EFFECTS OF PAID FAMILY LEAVE ON FAMILY CAREGIVING FOR OLDER ADULTS

Abstract

than would have been possible without these services?" At the caregiver level, responses were 48% definitely yes, 32% probably yes, and 20% no. We ran a multivariable regression model to estimate the association between the frequency of client satisfaction assessment with aggregated AAA-level percent of caregivers that responded "definitely yes" to the Care Longer question, while controlling for daily intensity of caregiving and other caregiver characteristics. We found that a higher percentage of caregivers who responded "definitely yes" when asked if the services enabled them to be a caregiver longer were clients within AAAs that assessed client satisfaction more often than annually (65.7% vs. 45.0% for AAAs with less frequent assessments; p = 0.0085). Model results also show that AAAs with clients experiencing more intense daily caregiving had a higher percentage of caregivers who responded "definitely yes" to the Care Longer question. These results point to the need for more research to better understand the optimal use of caregiver assessments to improve program effectiveness. THE EFFECTS OF PAID FAMILY LEAVE ON FAMILY CAREGIVING FOR OLDER ADULTS S. Kim, Columbia University Currently, two in three family caregivers for older adults are in the labor force, facing the conflicting demands for work and care. Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), introduced in 1993, provides 12-week time off work for workers to care for their family members. But, because it is unpaid leave offered at the discretion of employers, utilization of the FMLA are still low. Studies have shown that paid family leave, implemented in CA, NJ, and RI, promotes use of leave that positively affects working parents with a newborn and their babies. However, we know less about the impacts of paid family leave on family caregivers with older adults. This study examines the effects of access to paid family leave on care time among family caregivers with older relatives, using the 2011 American Time Use Survey and its Leave Module. Access to paid family leave is instrumented by state legislation of paid family leave, assuming that the employers in CA, NJ, and RI are more likely than the employers in other states without the paid leave law to provide paid family leave to their employees. The estimates show that access to paid family leave increases time spent caring for and helping with the older relatives outside the household. An increase in time spent helping due to access to paid family leave is marginally significant. Results also indicate that paid family leave is more beneficial for dealing with acute care needs for a non-household member than long-term care needs.'s disease and other dementias (ADRD) causes memory loss, reduces ability to communicate and changes personality and behavior thus requiring intensive levels of care that is most often provided by family members. Evidence from cross-sectional studies suggests caregiving for persons with ADRD is associated with adverse health outcomes. The study examined biennial data on white, black and Hispanic respondents and their spouses from the nationally representative Health and Retirement Study, 1998 to 2012. We used mixed-effect logistic regression to estimate the change in a person's depressive symptoms and self-reported health from before to after onset of dementia of his/her spouse and differences across caregivers and non-caregivers. Black and Hispanics caregivers had higher rates of depressive disorder and poor health compared to whites even before onset of a spouse's dementia and the take-up of caregiving tasks. Onset of dementia in a spouse was associated with higher odds of onset of depressive disorder (OR=1.61, p<0.001) and poor health (OR=1.16, p<0.011). Constant across race, becoming a spousal caregiver, was associated with higher odds of onset of depressive disorder (<20hours per week: OR=1.47, p<0.001; and high hours of care ≥20 hours per week: OR=1.80, p<0.001) and transitions into poor health (<20hours per week: OR=1.16, p<0.001) relative to non-caregivers. Clinical attention to the health of persons with a spouse with dementia is warranted for both caregivers and non-caregivers. High rates of depressive disorder and poor health, and increased risk of new onset among Hispanics compared to whites reveal racial disparities and mandate culturally informed interventions. Individuals with dementia living in the community are mostly cared for by unpaid/family caregivers. Caring for an individual with a progressive brain disease can be overwhelming , and family caregivers frequently report a lack of training/understanding about dementia and access to community resources. Results of an evaluation of 16 demen-tia trainings, funded through a Money Follows the Person Demonstration Rightsizing grant and implemented by a community-based agency, with a sample of 137 family car-egivers, showed an effect on three caregiver domains: self-efficacy, burden, and positive aspects of caregiving. Paired t-test results for the 5-item Caregiver Self-Efficacy Symptom Management scale showed a statistically significant increase from pre to post training (p < 0.001). For the 4-item Zarit Burden Interview, paired t-test results showed a statistically significant decrease in the mean burden level after the training (p = 0.005), and for the 4-item Carers of Older People in Europe (COPE) Index-Positive Aspects of Caregiving subscale, paired t-test results showed a statistically significant increase in the mean score after the training (p < 0.001). Outcomes suggest that caregiver dementia training improves caregiver confidence, the ability to manage daily care challenges , supports caregivers in their role and in the relationship they have with the care recipient, and should therefore continue to be consistently offered. Recommendations include additional research to evaluate the effectiveness of dementia training in community settings and further develop programs that provide practitioners with better ways to reduce the negative impacts of caregiving and enhance car-egivers' experience and quality of support.