Abstract
Communication with health care providers is a critical part of the caregiving role. Caregivers with a health care background are known as double-duty caregivers (DDCs), and little is known about their experiences and satisfaction when communicating with health care providers. A cross-sectional, non-experimental, correlational study was used to identify correlates and predictors of DDCs’ satisfaction when communicating with health care providers. A convenience sample of DDCs (N = 153) were recruited by social media posts and email to complete an online survey. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire and five validated self-survey instruments, including the Caregiver Perceptions about Communication with Clinical Team Members (CAPACITY) Instrument, Caregiver Reaction Scale, Nurses Professional Values Scale – Three, Health Care Relationship Trust Scale – Revised, Stress Visual Analog Scale, and three researcher developed questions regarding disclosure of professional nurse role. Pearson product-moment and Spearman’s rank correlations and multiple regression analysis were used to explore the relationships between DDCs personal and professional attributes, factors, and satisfaction with communication to determine the best predictive model. Results indicated that personal beliefs about caring (β = .55) and trust in the provider (β = .34) were the strongest predictors of satisfaction with health care providers. While not as strong, stress (β = -.18) was also a predictor of satisfaction. Findings from the study highlight the importance of building trusting relationships and for health care providers to communicate honestly when speaking with DDCs. Results inform the design of educational interventions to improve DDC-health care provider communication with a focus on personal beliefs about caring and trust.