United States/epidemiology

Little is known about the association between cognitive dysfunction among informal caregivers and patients' plans and preferences for patients' end of life care. We report on the frequency of cognitive dysfunction among both patients and caregivers and examine associations between caregivers' cognitive screening scores and end of life plans and preferences of patients with advanced cancer.

Objectives: To examine caregiver factors associated with unmet needs for care of older adults.; Design: Population-based surveys of caregivers and older adult care recipients in the United States in 2011.; Setting: 2011 National Health and Aging Trends Study and National Study of Caregiving.; Participants: Family caregivers (n = 1,996) of community-dwelling older adults with disabilities (n = 1,366).; Measurements: Disabled care recipient reports of unmet needs for care in the past month with activities of