{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,14]],"date-time":"2026-10-14T20:40:31Z","timestamp":1792010431562,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":32,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,6]],"date-time":"2025-06-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1749168000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Buffum Foundation"},{"name":"UVM Auxiliary Funds"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS One"],"abstract":"<jats:sec id=\"sec001\">\n                    <jats:title>Background and objectives<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Informal caregivers are critical to providing support to adults with functional limitations or disease in rural areas. There is a need to understand factors that impact rural caregiving to build equitable health services, yet there is a lack of research that weighs both strengths and challenges. Our goal is to examine these factors as identified by rural caregivers in qualitative interviews.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec002\">\n                    <jats:title>Research design and methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A purposive sample of rural-dwelling caregivers (n\u2009=\u200918) was recruited from a state-wide registry in a predominantly rural state. Semi-structured interviews were conducted by phone and interview transcripts were qualitatively analyzed.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec003\">\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>We identified areas of strengths and resilience among rural caregivers, including informal support from friends and neighbors, which often bridged gaps in formal services. Rural caregivers also identified barriers to service use, such as long distance, travel and a lack of awareness within the healthcare system.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec004\">\n                    <jats:title>Discussion and implications<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>These challenges increase caregivers\u2019 needs for tailored family centered care coordination and highlight the necessity of providing diverse care delivery options. Our findings highlight that community-based efforts and policy should address barriers and rural disadvantage, while also fostering and empowering the resilience of caregivers in their rural home environment.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0325536","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,6]],"date-time":"2025-06-06T13:35:56Z","timestamp":1749216956000},"page":"e0325536","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":8,"title":["Caregiving in rural areas: A qualitative study of challenges and resilience"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"20","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1373-9790","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Hyojin","family":"Choi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Christine","family":"Vatovec","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3108-465X","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Maija","family":"Reblin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,6]]},"reference":[{"issue":"22","key":"pone.0325536.ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2312","DOI":"10.1001\/jama.2021.5334","article-title":"Rural-urban disparity in mortality in the US From 1999 to 2019","volume":"325","author":"SH Cross","year":"2021","journal-title":"JAMA"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0325536.ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1007\/s40471-022-00313-9","article-title":"Aging in rural communities","volume":"10","author":"SA Cohen","year":"2023","journal-title":"Curr Epidemiol Rep"},{"issue":"9","key":"pone.0325536.ref003","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2865","DOI":"10.1111\/jgs.18376","article-title":"Rural disparities in use of family and formal caregiving for older adults with disabilities","volume":"71","author":"KEM Miller","year":"2023","journal-title":"J Am Geriatr Soc"},{"key":"pone.0325536.ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijnurstu.2017.10.008","article-title":"Unravelling positive aspects of caregiving in dementia: an integrative review of research literature","volume":"79","author":"DSF Yu","year":"2018","journal-title":"Int J Nurs Stud"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0325536.ref005","article-title":"Subjective caregiver burden and anxiety in informal caregivers: a systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"16","author":"R Del-Pino-Casado","year":"2021","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"issue":"5","key":"pone.0325536.ref006","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"583","DOI":"10.1093\/geront\/30.5.583","article-title":"Caregiving and the stress process: an overview of concepts and their measures","volume":"30","author":"LI Pearlin","year":"1990","journal-title":"Gerontologist"},{"key":"pone.0325536.ref007","unstructured":"AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving. 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