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Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Racial and Ethnic Differences in Dementia Caregivers' Well-Being
Liu C, Badana ANS, Burgdorf J, Fabius CD, Roth DL, Haley WE.. The Gerontologist, 2021-07-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Background and objectives Studies comparing racial/ethnic differences on measures of psychological and physical well-being for dementia caregivers have reported differences between minority and white caregivers. Recruitment methods often differ for minority and white participants due to enrollment targets and may lead to biased comparisons, especially in convenience samples. We aimed to examine racial/ethnic differences in dementia caregiver outcomes and to determine whether differences vary between studies with population-based or convenience samples. Research design and methods We systematically reviewed articles with primary data from PubMed, Google Scholar, and PsycINFO. We included studies comparing African American or Hispanic/Latino to white dementia caregivers on measures of psychological well-being or physical well-being. Reviewers screened titles and abstracts, reviewed full texts and conducted risk-of-bias assessments. Meta-analyses were conducted to assess effects by race/ethnicity and study bias. Results A total of 159 effects were extracted from 38 studies, 2 of which were population based. Random-effects models revealed small but statistically significant effects with better psychological well-being in African American caregivers compared with white caregivers in both population-based (d = -0.22) and convenience sample studies (d = -0.21). Hispanics/Latino caregivers reported lower levels of physical well-being than white caregivers (d = 0.12), though these effects varied by level of rated study bias. Discussion and implications Consistency across study methods raises confidence in the validity of previous reports of better psychological well-being in African American caregivers. Future studies should use population-based samples with subgroups of Hispanic/Latino, Asian American, and American Indian caregivers that are culturally distinct on factors such as country of origin and tribe.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Liu, C., Badana, A. N. S., Burgdorf, J., Fabius, C. D., Roth, D. L., & Haley, W. E. (2021). Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Racial and Ethnic Differences in Dementia Caregivers' Well-Being. The Gerontologist. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnaa028
Vancouver
Liu C, Badana ANS, Burgdorf J, Fabius CD, Roth DL, Haley WE. Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Racial and Ethnic Differences in Dementia Caregivers' Well-Being. The Gerontologist. 2021. doi:10.1093/geront/gnaa028. PMID: 32271380.
BibTeX
@article{liu2021-32271380,
author = {Liu, C. and Badana, A. N. S. and Burgdorf, J. and Fabius, C. D. and Roth, D. L. and Haley, W. E.},
title = {{Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Racial and Ethnic Differences in Dementia Caregivers' Well-Being}},
journal = {The Gerontologist},
year = {2021},
doi = {10.1093/geront/gnaa028},
pmid = {32271380},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnaa028}
}
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Key findings
- Results A total of 159 effects were extracted from 38 studies, 2 of which were population based.
- Random-effects models revealed small but statistically significant effects with better psychological well-being in African American caregivers compared with white caregivers in both population-based (d = -0.22) and convenience sample studies (d = -0.21).
Why it matters
Pooling 159 effects from 38 studies, this review found African American dementia caregivers reported slightly better psychological well-being than white caregivers, and the gap was about the same in population-based (d = -0.22) and convenience samples (d = -0.21) — so it does not look like a by-product of how people were recruited. Hispanic/Latino caregivers reported slightly lower physical well-being than white caregivers (d = 0.12), but that result varied with study quality. The differences are small, only 2 studies were population-based, and the review does not explain why the differences exist.
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Study details
- Study designmeta-analysis
- Participants159
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 69/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a meta-analysis pooling many studies. Scored zero for effect reported because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (The Gerontologist) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | The Gerontologist: journal h-index 238 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 12 / 12 | A meta-analysis pooling many studies |
| Strength of evidence | 5 / 5 | Rated “high” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 3 / 5 | 2021 — within 6 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 159 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | A review of other studies — randomisation is not credited here |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 136 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 19.4 citations a year over 7 year(s) since 2021 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 3.8× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 14 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 68 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author William E. Haley: h-index 77 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | Johns Hopkins University: institution h-index 2,306 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 32271380) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 69 / 100 | — |
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