Kim, Y.

Provision of informal care is declining in South Korea. Informal caregiving is examined in South Korea using longitudinal data. The results are that women with a dependent disengage more from caregiving than men; caregivers are young rather than old, and more frequently live in rural areas. They receive more financial transfers from non-cohabiting relatives and have fewer children than non-caregivers with a dependent adult. Both caregivers and non-caregivers are less likely than those without a dependent adult to give money to non-cohabiting relatives.

Objective: Cancer caregiving burden is known to vary across the survivorship trajectory and has been linked with caregivers’ subsequent health impairment. Little is known, however, regarding how risk factors during long-term survivorship relate to vulnerability to caregivers’ health during that period. This study examined effects of caregiving status and depressive symptoms on development of physical morbidity by 5 years postdiagnosis.