Beyond burden: Two ways of looking at caregiving burden

This analysis compares the results of an open-ended study on the effects of informal caregiving with data obtained from a separate investigation that used the same sample but employed fixed-item measures of burden. Informal caregivers (N = 229) were interviewed with both approaches six weeks after the patients (care receivers) were discharged from the hospital. Percentages, t tests, and analyses of variance were used to compare and contrast the data. The analysis found substantial correspondence between the results from the two approaches, especially around the negative effects of caregiving. Less correspondence was found on the positive effects of caregiving, particularly with regard to subjective fixed items.