Correlates of multicaregiving and singular caregiving among cancer caregivers and associations with caregiver well-being

Purpose: Compare demographic, care provision, and health-related characteristics of individuals fulfilling multiple illness-related caregiving roles (i.e. multicaregiving) versus singular (cancer only) caregiving and investigate factors associated with caregivers’ mental and physical functioning. Design: Cross-sectional national survey. Participants: Family caregivers who self-reported illness-related caregiving for cancer survivors only (singular caregivers: n = 465) or for one or more family members with illnesses in addition to the cancer survivors (multicaregivers: n = 109). Methods: Descriptive, logistic, and linear regression analysis. Findings: Singular caregivers and multicaregivers were similar on demographic, care provision, and health characteristics. Caregiving group was not associated with caregivers’ mental or physical functioning. Several caregiver and care recipient characteristics were associated with mental and physical functioning for singular caregivers; however, only age was associated with multicaregivers’ mental functioning. Conclusions: Uncovering correlates of multicaregiving can help describe who may serve in these roles and how concurrent care responsibilities may influence caregivers’ well-being.