In Canada, caregivers of older adults receiving home care face difficult decisions that may lead to decision regret.

This is one of the first studies to assess decision regret among caregivers of older adults receiving home and community care services and to identify their most frequent difficult decisions.

Difficult decisions were most frequently about housing and safety. Most caregivers of older adults in all 10 provinces of Canada experienced decision regret.

Factors associated with less decision regret included higher caregiver age, the involvement of other family members in the decision-making process, wanting to receive information about the options, considering organizations interested in the decision topic, and health care professionals as trustworthy sources of information. Factors associated with more decision regret included mismatch between the caregiver’s preferred option and the decision made, the involvement of spouses in the decision-making process, higher decisional conflict, and higher burden of care.