El cuidado: una actividad de riesgo en tiempos de crisis. Una revisión de la investigación con cuidadoras españolas

Abstract

Because of the increasing life expectancy, caring for a dependent relative is a very necessary activity. It is also very conflictive and dependent of the legislative characteristics and the social changes in each country, such as the incorporation of women into the labor market. Family caregivers are a particularly vulnerable population, whose physical and psychological health is at risk and requires special attention. Therefore, the aim of this review is to analyze some empirical studies of the last five years that have been conducted with Spanish caregivers to evaluate the impact of caregiving. A bibliographic research of the empirical studies written in Spanish and with Spanish samples has been done in three databases internationally recognized. The main results were that caregivers are usually women, and research has mostly used questionnaires to assess the burden consequence of caregiving, personality and psychopathological symptoms. The main conclusion is the description of the profile of the Spanish caregiver as well as her special vulnerability situation.