Basic Nursing 1st Edition by Judith Wilkinson, Leslie Treas

Exercise 18

Huges, M. E.,Waite, L. J., LaPierre,T.A., et al. (2007). All in the family: The impact of caring for grandchildren on grandparents' health. Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 62, S I 08-S119.
Researchers were interested in knowing what effects on the physical and psychological health occur among older adults when caring for grandchildren. Using a sample of 12,872 grandparents ages 50 through 80, they examined the relationship between various types of grandchild care and health of the grandparents. Researchers found no evidence to suggest that caring for grandchildren has dramatic and widespread negative effects on grandparents' health and mental well-being. In fad, the study actually revealed higher-level physical health and emotional benefits to grandmothers who babysit. However, there was a small number of grandparents whose health might have been compromised by having children in the home, likely due to infections. The findings were different when the parents are absent or minimally involved with childrearing. When parental involvement was low, grandmothers are more likely to experience poor health behaviors, depression, and lower self-rating of overall health.
Based on this research, if you were the nurse, what kinds of information would you want to gather from families where grandparents provided custodial care to grandchildren?