JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Family caregivers commonly help manage medications taken by people living with dementia. Recent work has highlighted the importance of caregiver networks, which are multiple caregivers managing care for a single person with dementia, on managing care for persons living with dementia, especially medication management. However, less is known about the composition of caregiver networks.

Objective:

The objective of this analysis was to describe the composition of caregiver networks that manage medications, the factors associated with helping with medications within caregiver networks, and whether racial or ethnic differences exist in caregiver network composition.

Methods:

Cross-sectional secondary analysis of data from the National Health and Aging Trends (NHATS) Other Person Files from 2011 to 2022. Descriptive statistics were calculated for caregivers who were identified as helping manage medications for a person with dementia. Mixed-effect logistic regression was used to determine factors associated with helping with medications among caregiver networks, with odds ratios converted to predicted probabilities using marginal standardization. Secondary analysis was stratified by race and ethnicity due to identified cultural differences in living situation and overall caregiver network composition.

Results:

15,809 caregivers were analyzed. Of those, 3098 (19.2%) managed medications for persons living with dementia. Every person with dementia reported at least one person who managed their medications. White persons with dementia had an average of 2.4 people who managed medications, while Black/African American persons with dementia had an average of 2.8 and Hispanic/Latino persons with dementia had an average of 2.9 people who managed medications. Spouses were most likely to manage medications across all racial and ethnic groups. In regression modeling, Female gender, Black/African American race, and Hispanic ethnicity were associated with an increased probability of helping with medications.

Conclusions:

The size and composition of caregiver networks that manage medications for persons living with dementia differs by race and ethnicity. Interventions should include spouses, children, and other people who help manage medications for persons with dementia.