Families Caring for an Aging America


Book Description

Family caregiving affects millions of Americans every day, in all walks of life. At least 17.7 million individuals in the United States are caregivers of an older adult with a health or functional limitation. The nation's family caregivers provide the lion's share of long-term care for our older adult population. They are also central to older adults' access to and receipt of health care and community-based social services. Yet the need to recognize and support caregivers is among the least appreciated challenges facing the aging U.S. population. Families Caring for an Aging America examines the prevalence and nature of family caregiving of older adults and the available evidence on the effectiveness of programs, supports, and other interventions designed to support family caregivers. This report also assesses and recommends policies to address the needs of family caregivers and to minimize the barriers that they encounter in trying to meet the needs of older adults.




Surviving Family Care Giving


Book Description

Surviving Family Care Giving: Co-ordinating effective care through collaborative communication is a practical book for family and other home carers in a variety of situations. Gráinne Smith shows how to provide the most effective coordinated care possible through constructive communication and collaborative care, to support individuals who have long term physical and mental health problems, including conditions from Alzheimers to alchoholism, autism to anorexia, schizophrenia to multiple sclerosis. Written from personal experience as a family carer, Gráinne Smith includes interviews with other carers and service users; and draws on years of working with children and their families in tough times. Chapters such as Challenging Behaviour, Confidentiality, and Motivation illustrate some of the many problems facing carers who support vulnerable individuals. Problems include isolation, feelings of helplessness and uncertainty about what best to do, what to try to avoid and the lack of much needed relevant information and resources to support care-giving. Surviving Family Care Giving vividly illustrates the daily difficulties experienced by care givers who offer long term care and support – and shows how to work through them. It provides suggestions on ways to build both constructive collaborative care and good family teamwork through effective communication, and how to ensure continuing care and support for the person at the centre of all the efforts. This book will be essential reading for family and other carers, including professionals trying to create ongoing continuity of care for their patients outside of treatment and education centres.




Patient Safety and Quality


Book Description

"Nurses play a vital role in improving the safety and quality of patient car -- not only in the hospital or ambulatory treatment facility, but also of community-based care and the care performed by family members. Nurses need know what proven techniques and interventions they can use to enhance patient outcomes. To address this need, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), with additional funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has prepared this comprehensive, 1,400-page, handbook for nurses on patient safety and quality -- Patient Safety and Quality: An Evidence-Based Handbook for Nurses. (AHRQ Publication No. 08-0043)." - online AHRQ blurb, http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/nurseshdbk/




The Emotional Survival Guide for Caregivers


Book Description

Caring for a parent whose health is in decline turns the world upside down. The emotional fallout can be devastating, but it doesn't have to be that way. Empathic guidance from an expert who's been there can help. Through an account of two sisters and their ailing mother--interwoven with no-nonsense advice--The Emotional Survival Guide for Caregivers helps family members navigate tough decisions and make the most of their time together as they care for an aging parent. The author urges readers to be honest about the level of commitment they're able to make and emphasizes the need for clear communication within the family. While acknowledging their guilt, stress, and fatigue, he helps caregivers reaffirm emotional connections worn thin by the routine of daily care. This compassionate book will help families everywhere avoid burnout and preserve bonds during one of life's most difficult passages.




Stroke Recovery and Rehabilitation


Book Description

A Doody's Core Title 2012 Stroke Recovery and Rehabilitation is the new gold standard comprehensive guide to the management of stroke patients. Beginning with detailed information on risk factors, epidemiology, prevention, and neurophysiology, the book details the acute and long-term treatment of all stroke-related impairments and complications. Additional sections discuss psychological issues, outcomes, community reintegration, and new research. Written by dozens of acknowledged leaders in the field, and containing hundreds of tables, graphs, and photographic images, Stroke Recovery and Rehabilitation features: The first full-length discussion of the most commonly-encountered component of neurorehabilitation Multi-specialty coverage of issues in rehabilitation, neurology, PT, OT, speech therapy, and nursing Focus on therapeutic management of stroke related impairments and complications An international perspective from dozens of foremost authorities on stroke Cutting edge, practical information on new developments and research trends Stroke Recovery and Rehabilitation is a valuable reference for clinicians and academics in rehabilitation and neurology, and professionals in all disciplines who serve the needs of stroke survivors.




Cancer Caregiving in the United States


Book Description

Despite advances in detection and treatment, cancer remains a source of pain and distress to patients and of complex challenges to the loved ones caring for them. The trend toward shorter hospital stays in particular has increased the physical, psychological, and financial burden on caregivers, often leading to adverse effects on patients. Cancer Caregiving in the United States illuminates these complex concerns with authoritative detail. This wide-ranging volume provides a comprehensive survey of cancer-related issues, including those affecting the care triad (patients-family members- professionals) and quality of care as well as the numerous physical, emotional, and financial challenges that caregivers may need to confront. Sources of caregiver difficulty at each stage of the disease, from diagnosis to end of life, are explored. Each chapter analyzes its topic in terms of practice, research, education, and policy, providing a wealth of literature reviews, assessment and care models, interventions, and recommendations for future study and practice. Coverage includes: Caregiving issues for cancer patients with long-term, short-term, and intermittent needs. Family caregivers as members of the treatment team. The impact of health disparities on caregivers. Cancer care policy and advocacy. End-of-life issues for cancer caregivers. Legal, financial, and ethical issues. Cancer Caregiving in the United States is a core reference for researchers, professionals/scientist-practitioners, and graduate students in such caregiving fields as clinical psychology, social work, nursing, public health and medicine, social policy, and educational policy.




Handbook of Oncology Social Work


Book Description

The development of this inaugural Handbook of Oncology Social Work: Psychosocial Care for People With Cancer provides a repository of the scope of oncology social workers' clinical practice, education, research, policy and program leadership in the psychosocial care of people with cancer and their families. It focuses on the unique synergy of social work perspectives, values, knowledge, and skills with the psychosocial needs of cancer patients, their families, and the health care systems in which they are treated. It addresses both the science and art of psychosocial care and identifies the increasing specialization of oncology social work related to its unique knowledge base, skills, role, and the progressive complexity of psychosocial challenges for patients with cancer. This Handbook equips the reader with all that we know today in oncology social work about patient and family centered care, distress screening, genetics, survivorship, care coordination, sociocultural and economic diversity, legal and ethical matters, clinical work with adults living with cancer, cancer across the lifespan, their caregivers and families, pediatrics, loss and grief, professional career development, leadership, and innovation. Our hope is that in reading this Handbook you will identify new areas where each of you can leave your mark as innovators and change agents in our evolving field of practice.




Stroke Rehabilitation


Book Description

Learn to confidently manage the growing number of stroke rehabilitation clients with Gillen's Stroke Rehabilitation: A Function-Based Approach, 4th Edition. Using a holistic and multidisciplinary approach, this text remains the only comprehensive, evidence-based stroke rehabilitation resource for occupational therapists. The new edition has been extensively updated with the latest information, along with more evidence-based research added to every chapter. As with previous editions, this comprehensive reference uses an application-based method that integrates background medical information, samples of functionally based evaluations, and current treatment techniques and intervention strategies. Evidence-based clinical trials and outcome studies clearly outline the basis for stroke interventions. UNIQUE! Survivor's Perspectives help readers understand the stroke rehabilitation process from the client'' point-of-view. UNIQUE! Case studies challenge readers to apply rehabilitation concepts to realistic scenarios. UNIQUE! A multidisciplinary approach highlights discipline-specific distinctions in stroke rehabilitation among occupation and physical therapists, physicians, and speech-language pathologists. Review questions in each chapter help readers assess their understanding of rehabilitation concepts. Key terms and chapter objectives at the beginning of each chapter help readers study more efficiently. Three new chapters broaden your understanding of stroke intervention in the areas of Using Technology to Improve Limb Function, Managing Speech and Language Deficits after Stroke, and Parenting after Stroke. Learning activities and interactive references on a companion Evolve Resources website help you review textbook content and locate additional information.




Caregiving Through Repressed Trauma : Survival Guide For Caregivers


Book Description

Caregiving Through Repressed Trauma Survival Guide For Caregivers is a compassionate and practical resource designed for caregivers who are balancing the demands of caring for loved ones while facing their own emotional challenges. Drawing from personal experiences and trauma-informed insights, this guide provides tools, strategies, and support to help caregivers manage their trauma, avoid burnout, and maintain their well-being. The book explores the complexities of caregiving while addressing topics such as recognizing the impact of trauma on caregiving roles, setting healthy boundaries, and implementing self-care practices. It emphasizes the importance of healing for the caregiver as a priority, rather than an afterthought. With practical advice, this guide empowers caregivers to take control of their healing journey while continuing to offer care to those in need. Whether you are dealing with repressed trauma or the ongoing stress of caregiving, this guide offers a lifeline, reminding you that your well-being matters too.




Informal Caregivers: From Hidden Heroes to Integral Part of Care


Book Description

This book builds on the current trends in informal caregivers’ role in the supportive care of cancer patients (as well as other diseases) across the care continuum covering topics from the healthcare professionals and the users’ perspectives. Informal caregivers are a critical resource to their care recipients and an essential component of the health care system. The book introduces a comprehensive view of the topic and acknowledges the importance and the complexity of caregiving. Here lays one of the uniqueness of this book, which highlights the areas and the ways that for example interventions in specific settings/groups of patients can actually facilitate the caregiving process. The increasing number of care-dependent people, the adoption of the principle “outpatient before inpatient”, the shift of care from inpatient to outpatient and the preference for home care (i.e. majority) are only some of the reasons that contributed to Informal caregiving becoming a central feature of the health care landscape and will become even more prominent in the decades ahead. The book draws on the experts’ high-end, current systematic research evidence and real-life examples on these topics to provide an insightful perspective on undertaking research within this context, and to demonstrate informal caregivers’ impact on patients’ outcomes. The structure of the book provides multiple perspectives to the topic and makes it appealing to a wide range of recipients including the nursing community, clinicians, social workers, researchers, policy makers, technology experts as well as postgraduate students especially to those practicing specifically in supportive care in cancer. The book fills a gap in this field of expertise not only by familiarizing the reader with a wide range of topics to be considered but it also emphasizes on what the developments in the field in the future would need to take into consideration. Finally, current and future studies can be informed from the practices of preceding studies that are incorporated in the book.