Did you know scientific studies show that people who help others are generally healthier themselves?
It’s true! While caregiving can be stressful, there are many health benefits to caregiving that parallel those of volunteerism, perhaps even outweighing the negative impacts of its concomitant stress.
That’s one of the points Dr. David L. Roth, director of the Center on Aging and Health (COAH), makes in a National Family Caregiver’s Month blog he wrote for Johns Hopkins’ Frailty Science team. Check it out here to get a great overview of research on the stress and benefits of caregiving.
As you may know, Dr. Roth is a leader in the field of research on family caregivers’ health and wellbeing. Here’s a few influential articles about research on this topic with which he has been involved, and in which you might be interested:
- Informal caregiving and its impact on health: A reappraisal from population-based studies
- Improving caregiver well-being delays nursing home placement of patients with Alzheimer disease
- Appraisal, coping, and social support as mediators of well-being in black and white family caregivers of patients with Alzheimer’s disease
Many COAH researchers are involved in studies to advance understanding about this matter. Keep checking our News section for fresh insights! Meanwhile, please know that we see you, appreciate you, and celebrate you. Without a doubt, family caregivers are a strong thread running through the great social fabric in America’s beautiful tapestry.
Happy National Family Caregiver’s Month!