SOC 200: What Is Meant By The Term Caregiver Burden

Three Questions: Questions 2, 3 and 6
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Question 2
The term caregiver burden is understood as the perception of fatigue or stress brought about by the sustained effort required to care for people who have chronic disease or other conditions with special needs for care. Caregiver roles differ by ethnicity and culture in that in some cultures, especially collectivist cultures, the care-giving role is culturally prescribed basing upon a traditional gender ideology which assigns the role of care-giving to women and/or a set of hierarchy of who should provide care. For example, Asian American care-givers underscore that they provide care since it is their position as women to take care of the older people. In the Hispanic culture, the role of care-giving is culturally prescribed to the oldest daughter. For European Americans, the role of care giving is not culturally prescribed. Rather than culture, it is personal responsibility that influences the decision to provide care.
Gender plays a role in care giving that takes place in the United States in that care-giving responsibilities fall primarily on women. Nearly 70% of all caregivers in America are female. In essence, the role of care giving is chiefly associated with women. The term sandwich generation refers to a generation of people, mainly in their forties or thirties, who support their own children while caring for their aging parents. Informal care-giving occurs when any neighbour, friend, partner or relative who has personal relationship with an older adult who has a disabling/chronic condition, offers a wide array of assistance for him/her. The informal caregivers might be secondary or primary caregivers living separately from, or living with, the older adult who is receiving the care. They care for the older adult at no cost. People of the sandwich generation provide informal care-giving for their aging parents. On the other hand, formal care-giving occurs when the care-giving is provided by a provider who is linked to a formal service system. The formal caregiver could be a volunteer or a paid worker.
Question 3
Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) among senior citizens in America are rising, with possibly serious health consequences. There are more STDs amongst the elderly than one may expect because of the following reasons: firstly, pe...