Impact of Caregiver Status on Academic Achievements and Family-Work Conflict

Background and Objectives – With more women entering the medical workforce, caregiving challenges and family-work conflicts are of growing importance to today's neurologists. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of caregiver (CG) status on academic achievements in neurology, analyze the division of labor and time devoted to domestic responsibilities, and measure family-work conflict in US academic neurology faculty. Methods – A total of 19 US neurology departments completed a survey on baseline demographics, academic achievements, CG status, division of domestic time and labor, and responses on a FWC scale. Variables were assessed using independent samples t tests (or Mann-Whitney U for non-normally distributed data) and X² analyses as appropriate, with CGs vs noncaregivers (N-CGs) serving as the independent groups. Results – Women were twice as likely as men to categorize themselves as caregivers (p = 0.005). There were no significant differences in academic achievements between the CG and N-CG groups. However, CG men had a statistically significantly higher number of leadership positions (p = 0.022), number of publications as first or last author (p = 0.020), and number of awards (p = 0.004) when compared with CG women. The percentage of CG women faculty who reported spending more than 22 hours per week on child care was significantly higher than that of CG men (p = 0.003). Caregiver women also reported doing more work at home; taking care of children when they are sick; taking days off work when children are sick; handling more chores related to child care (e.g., managing activities/schedules); and doing laundry, cooking, and cleaning related to child care. Finally, the CG group experienced a higher level of FWC, as evidenced by responses on the FWC scale (p < 0.001). This finding was same for CG women compared with CG men (p = 0.034). Discussion – Although the caregiving burden did not directly affect academic productivity, it significantly increased FWC in US academic neurology faculty surveyed. Female CG faculty disproportionately shouldered domestic and household responsibilities. Beyond recognizing CG challenges, advocating for a change in paradigm and providing solutions to these pervasive issues could be instrumental in preventing further attrition of professionals from our field, particularly women with caregiving roles.