Factors Associated With Shifts in Caregiving During COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted many aspects of life, including care arrangements of older adults. Using nationally representative data on 2501 U.S. adults who reported providing care to a family member or friend age 50 or older either prior to or during the pandemic, we examined factors associated with pandemic-related changes in caregiving. Logistic regression models were used to compare caregivers who stopped or started providing care due to the pandemic to those who continued on a variety of types of factors (i.e., caregiver characteristics, care recipient characteristics, or caregiving contextual factors). Individuals who stopped providing care had significantly weaker contextual attachments to the care recipient than those who continued. Ceasing care was significantly associated with living further away from the care recipient, being a more distant relative, and being a newer caregiver compared to continuing care. Many different types of factors were significantly associated with becoming a new caregiver.