Contours of the caregiver experience: Social resources and health behaviors in caregiving partners of persons with a spinal cord injury

Background and rationale: Informal caregiving is highly prevalent in Switzerland and in the long-term associated with chronic stress as evidenced by its negative effects on caregivers health and well-being. To date, most of research on informal caregiving has been focused on the elderly. Yet, the evidence from these studies may not be applicable and misinform policy in context of physical disabilities, which may further concerns younger-aged caregivers. Spinal cord injury (SCI) is an exemplary condition for the enforced need of long-term informal care that oftentimes occurs in middle-age. To better understand the mechanisms behind the health-adverse effects of caregiving, a improved understanding of the interplay between social and behavioral factors and the caregiver experience is needed. This project was a follow-up of the longitudinal pro-WELL study (pro-WELL 1), which investigated associations of productive activities and social relationships with health and well-being in persons wi...