Exemplary informal caregiving of older adults in rural Maine

The purpose of this correlational study was to determine how informal caregivers of older adults in rural Maine rated their quality of care on the Provide and Respect scales of the Exemplary Care Scale (ECS). Informal caregivers in rural Maine were asked to rate their care by using the two relevant dimensions of the ECS that was developed on the basis of urban respondents by Dooley et al. (2007). The sample included 77 informal caregivers who completed the 11 positively worded questions from the ECS through a web-based questionnaire (via Survey Monkey). The aim was to test a sufficient number of caregivers in Maine to analyze five variables (e.g., caregiver age, education level of caregiver, etc.) potentially impacting exemplary care. Data was analyzed using tests for variance and regression. Rural Maine caregivers rated the care they provide older adult recipients on the ECS Provide and Respect factors similarly to their more urban counterparts' scores in the standardization sample. Although only 2% of the participants reported membership in an on-line caregiver support group, almost half expressed an interest in joining such a group. All independent variables contributed approximately equally to the caregiver ratings on both factors. This study may be significant in partially filling a gap in research regarding exemplary informal care in rural Maine where the proportion of older adults is projected to reach almost 21% of the population by 2020, resulting in a financial strain on the long-term care system. Using family resilience theory, the study may provide policy makers and health care providers a method of measuring and strengthening informal caregiving, thereby possibly forestalling admission to long-term care facilities that cost three times more than in-home care.