The Spectrum of Family Caregiving for Adults and Elders with Chronic Illness


Book Description

The Spectrum of Family Caregiving for Adults and Elders with Chronic Illness is written for individuals in the helping professions who are in roles that interface with or serve family caregivers who are supporting an adult or elder with a chronic condition.




The Spectrum of Family Caregiving for Adults and Elders with Chronic Illness


Book Description

The vast majority of care provided to adults and elders with chronic illness is given in the home, most often by family members. The caregiver's role is daunting; caregiving is often referred to as a 'career,' requiring long hours and arduous tasks. Primary caregivers show higher rates of morbidity and mortality, and caregiving is a major source of stress and burden to caregiving families. Presently, very little support is available to caregivers from either State or Federal agencies. However, awareness of this worsening problem is growing among health professionals and policy makers. The Spectrum of Family Caregiving for Adults and Elders with Chronic Illness is written for individuals in the helping professions who are in roles that interface with or serve family caregivers who are supporting an adult or elder with a chronic condition. The volume includes eight disease-specific chapters written by experts from various disciplines. Each discusses the caregiving role and includes a thorough review of the literature on the characteristics of caregivers and care-recipients, including related care needs, issues, and challenges unique to that chronic illness. Chapters also review the extant literature on caregiver interventions. An Evidence Table is included in each of these chapters so that the reader can easily judge the quality of evidence supporting the intervention studies. Finally, each chapter includes two case studies describing common problems encountered by caregivers, along with descriptions of interventions used to address these problems. The final chapter summarizes the state of the science on caregiving roles and caregiver interventions and discusses the most relevant challenges and barriers faced by today's caregivers and caregiver advocates. This book will be valuable to clinicians and those in the helping professions, as well as academics and researchers with an interest in the study of family caregiving and caregiver interventions, and to health administrators, public officials, and policy makers concerned with chronic illness care and management.




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.




Family Caregiving


Book Description

This comprehensive resource offers a detailed framework for fostering resilience in families caring for their older members. Its aim is to improve the quality of life for both the caregivers themselves as much as for those they support. Robust interventions are presented to guide family members through chronic and acute challenges in areas such as emotional health, physical comfort, financial aspects of care, dealing with health systems, and adjusting to transition. Examples, models, interviews, and an extended case study identify core concerns of caregiving families and avenues for nurturing positive adaptation. Throughout, contributors provide practical applications for therapists and other service providers in diverse disciplines, and for advancing family resilience as a field. Included in the coverage: Therapeutic interventions for caregiving families. Facilitating older adults’ resilience through meeting nutritional needs. Improving ergonomics for the safety, comfort, and health of caregivers. Hope as a coping resource for caregiver resilience and well-being. Perspectives on navigating care transitions with individuals with dementia. Planning for and managing costs related to caregiving. Family Caregiving offers a new depth of knowledge and real-world utility to social workers, mental health professionals and practitioners, educators and researchers in the field of family resilience, as well as scholars in the intersecting disciplines of family studies, human development, psychology, sociology, social work, education, law, and medicine.




Retooling for an Aging America


Book Description

As the first of the nation's 78 million baby boomers begin reaching age 65 in 2011, they will face a health care workforce that is too small and woefully unprepared to meet their specific health needs. Retooling for an Aging America calls for bold initiatives starting immediately to train all health care providers in the basics of geriatric care and to prepare family members and other informal caregivers, who currently receive little or no training in how to tend to their aging loved ones. The book also recommends that Medicare, Medicaid, and other health plans pay higher rates to boost recruitment and retention of geriatric specialists and care aides. Educators and health professional groups can use Retooling for an Aging America to institute or increase formal education and training in geriatrics. Consumer groups can use the book to advocate for improving the care for older adults. Health care professional and occupational groups can use it to improve the quality of health care jobs.




Bridging the Family Care Gap


Book Description

Bridging the Family Care Gap explores expected future shortages of family caregivers of older persons and identifies potential solutions. The book examines the sustainability and availability of care management models and whether they can be effectively scaled up to meet community needs. It identifies newly emerging policy initiatives at local, state, and federal levels. The book addresses the state of family caregiving science, dissemination and implementation of promising programs and supports, technological innovations, and other strategies to offset the family care gap. This edited volume also explores lay healthcare workers as guides, interpreters, and advocates in healthcare systems that provide continuity of contact for family caregivers. - Details threats to family caregiving-sociodemographic, chronic disease, and socioeconomic challenges - Presents solutions to the caregiving gap in a systematic, synthesized manner - Addresses the intersection of family caregiving and technology - Discusses chronic disease management to offset and reduce the need for family caregiving - Describes models of caregiver support in work settings - Reimagines the delivery of long-term services and supports with novel initiatives







Building Better Caregivers


Book Description

Today more than 40 million people in the U.S. find themselves responsible for caring for a parent, relative, or friend. Building Better Caregivers, developed by the author team of the bestselling Living a Healthy Life with Chronic Conditions, shares the best in caregiving research and the most important lessons learned from thousands of caregivers. With a focus on reducing stress through the use of practical skills and tools, this book will help you manage your caregiving tasks so you can maintain a happy, fulfilling life while also meeting your caregiving obligations.




Older People and Their Caregivers Across the Spectrum of Care


Book Description

Examine recently developed concepts and strategies to help social workers and caregivers improve the quality of care for senior citizens! Older People and Their Caregivers Across the Spectrum of Care focuses on two major aspects of elderly care: assessment and caregiving. This book examines assessment techniques and models used by social workers and other health care professionals to determine the type and extent of care necessary to meet the needs of the elderly. In addition, it voices recent concerns about the use of standardized models for all older adults. This book also addresses the burdens and benefits of being a caregiver to older relatives or friends and mentions several programs made available for caregivers through social services. Older People and Their Caregivers Across the Spectrum of Care reviews assessment techniques and practice models that address issues such as abuse and HIV/AIDS care. This book also provides information about currently overlooked issues that will increasingly affect assessment and intervention, including diversity in cultural or religious beliefs and sexual orientation. This book is also unique in its focus on those unsung, unpaid heroes—relatives and friends—who assist elderly companions with their financial, social, and physical daily needs. With Older People and Their Caregivers Across the Spectrum of Care you’ll find vital information on: two elderly victims’ services, one involving social services and the other involving criminal action the challenges of assessing older adults with HIV/AIDS the pros and cons of long-distance caregiving a life course assessment intervention model used at military colleges to help officers prepare proactively for parent care the Caregivers and Professionals Partnership (CAPP), which employs innovative outreach strategies to family caregivers of adults the Northport VA Friendly Companion Program, which enhances opportunities for interpersonal interaction African-American caregivers and their experiences with African-American elders Social workers and caregivers will find the information in this book vital in their work. Generously enhanced with tables, charts, case studies, references, and personal vignettes, Older People and Their Caregivers Across the Spectrum of Care will help you improve quality of life for the older adults of today—and tomorrow.




Caring for Latinxs with Dementia in a Globalized World


Book Description

This volume provides a broad and critical presentation of the behavioral and psychosocial treatments of Latinxs with dementia in the United States (U.S.) and across a representative sample of Spanish-speaking countries in the world. The compendium of chapters, written by researchers, practitioners, and policy analysts from multiple disciplines provides a deep exploration of the current state of dementia care for Latinxs in the U.S. and around the globe. The volume is designed to increase and strengthen the collective scientific and sociocultural understanding of the epidemiological and biopsychosocial factors, as well as the overlapping systemic challenges that impact diagnosis and symptom management of Latinxs with dementia. The authors introduce policy options to reduce risk factors for dementia and present culturally-responsive interventions that meet the needs of Latinx patients and their caregivers. Highlighted topics featured in the book include: Contextual, cultural, and socio-political issues of Latinxs with dementia. New meta-analysis of dementia rates in the Americas and Caribbean. Dementia-related behavioral issues and placement considerations. Educational, diagnostic, and supportive psychosocial interventions. Pharmacological, non-pharmacological, and ethnocultural healthcare interventions. Intersectionality as a practice of dementia care for sexual and gender minoritized Latinxs. Prescriptions for policy and programs to empower older Latinxs and their families. Caring for Latinxs with Dementia in a Globalized World: Behavioral and Psychosocial Treatments is a resource that accentuates and contextualizes the heterogeneity in nationality, immigration, race, sexual orientation, gender, and political realities. It is a key reference for a wide range of fields inclusive of demography, geriatrics, gerontology, medicine, mental health, neurology, neuropsychology, nursing, occupational therapy, pharmacology, psychiatry, psychology, rehabilitation, social work, sociology, and statistics all of which, collectively, bear on the problem and the solutions for better care for Latinxs affected by dementia.