Examining Social Support and Digital Literacy Among Caregivers of People Living With Dementia Receiving Hospice Services.
Hannah Cho, Liming Huang, Justine S Sefcik and 5 others
PMID 41353626WHAT IT FOUND
Caregiving stressors were associated with depressive symptoms.
Social support and digital literacy did not explain that link, so support-focused or tech-focused help alone may not protect caregivers.
Key findings
01Caregiving stressors were significantly associated with depressive symptoms in the total effect.
02Social support did not significantly mediate the relationship between caregiving stressors and depressive symptoms.
03Digital literacy did not significantly moderate the relationship between caregiving stressors and social support.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study used cross-sectional baseline data, so it cannot show that stressors caused anxiety or depression, or that social support or digital literacy could change them. It was a secondary analysis, and no a priori power analysis was done. Digital literacy was assessed only in 63 participants because the scale was added later. The digital literacy scale was modified and may not fully capture digital literacy in this hospice caregiver population. The sample had relatively low diversity and may not generalise to all caregivers. Stressors were reported as a summed count, so it is unclear which individual stressor drove the associations.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest. The supplied text does not name a funder or sponsor.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that social support or digital literacy training will reduce caregiver anxiety and depression. The study found no significant mediation by social support and no significant moderation by digital literacy, and the cross-sectional design cannot show cause.