Education And Support Programs For Caregivers

For many, caring for a chronically ill family member is “the right thing to do”, but it is also often a source of emotional hardship, physical stress, and social isolation. In response, skill-building, coping, and psychoeducational programs have emerged to help caregivers meet the changes and challenges in their – as well as the patients’ – lives. Education and Support Programs for Caregivers reveals the diversity of the caregiver population as well as their experiences and needs, and it introduces an empirically solid framework for planning, implementing, and evaluating caregiver programs. The book synthesizes current trends, exploring the effectiveness of different types of programs (e.g., clinic, community, home based) and groups (e.g., peer, professional, self-help), and how supportive programs lead to improved care. Coverage includes: Improving service delivery of education and support programs to underserved caregivers. Cultural, ethnic, and gender issues in conducting caregiver education and support groups. Utilization patterns (e.g., a key to understanding service needs). E-health, telehealth, and other technological developments in caregiver services. Evaluating the effectiveness and sustainability of programs. Recommendations for future practice, training, policy, and advocacy. Education and Support Programs for Caregivers offers a wealth of insights and ideas for researchers, practitioners, and graduate students across the caregiving fields, including psychology, social work, public health, geriatrics and gerontology, and medicine as well as public and education policy makers.

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.

"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/

For many, caring for a chronically ill family member is “the right thing to do”, but it is also often a source of emotional hardship, physical stress, and social isolation. In response, skill-building, coping, and psychoeducational programs have emerged to help caregivers meet the changes and challenges in their – as well as the patients’ – lives. Education and Support Programs for Caregivers reveals the diversity of the caregiver population as well as their experiences and needs, and it introduces an empirically solid framework for planning, implementing, and evaluating caregiver programs. The book synthesizes current trends, exploring the effectiveness of different types of programs (e.g., clinic, community, home based) and groups (e.g., peer, professional, self-help), and how supportive programs lead to improved care. Coverage includes: Improving service delivery of education and support programs to underserved caregivers. Cultural, ethnic, and gender issues in conducting caregiver education and support groups. Utilization patterns (e.g., a key to understanding service needs). E-health, telehealth, and other technological developments in caregiver services. Evaluating the effectiveness and sustainability of programs. Recommendations for future practice, training, policy, and advocacy. Education and Support Programs for Caregivers offers a wealth of insights and ideas for researchers, practitioners, and graduate students across the caregiving fields, including psychology, social work, public health, geriatrics and gerontology, and medicine as well as public and education policy makers.

Caring for persons with chronic illnesses or disabilities is a rewarding endeavor, but it often places extreme demands on those providing care. Caregivers need both education and support to understand their caregiving roles and to cope with the difficult situations they face. All too often there is a chasm between professionals who are part of the formal caregiving system and family members, friends, and neighbors who provide daily care. The Caring for You, Caring for Me education and support program is a valuable tool for use in providing caregivers with education and support. The program is designed to bring formal (professional) and informal (lay/family) caregivers together to gain a better understanding of each other's perspectives on what it means to be a caregiver, with the hope that in the process both will learn to do it better. The program is based on caregiving research and the expertise of frontline caregivers. The Leader's Guide contains everything needed to conduct a ten-hour education and support program for caregivers: informational content, layouts for overhead transparencies, and suggested group activities. The companion Participant's Manual supports the presentation, providing a workbook for class activities, a suggested reading list, and a compendium of national sources of help for caregivers. Caring for You, Caring for Me was developed by the Rosalynn Carter Institute under the guidance of the West Central Georgia Caregivers' Network (CARE-NET). The Rosalynn Carter Institute was established in 1987. Its mission is to understand the process of caregiving and discover new ways to benefit both formal and informal caregivers. The Institute supports the premise that caregivers and care receivers can be served most effectively through the collaborative efforts of formal and informal caregivers, academicians, public and private services, and organizations representing caregivers and recipients of care.

Older adults increasingly rely on family members or friends (i.e., informal caregivers) for needed care and support as they age. Family caregivers typically assume their caregiving role willingly and reap personal fulfilment from helping a loved one, developing new skills, and strengthening family relationships. For these benefits, however, caregivers often sacrifice their own health and well-being. Depression, anxiety, poor physical health, and compromised immune function are more common among family caregivers than in adults not providing such care. The REACH OUT Caregiver Support Program offers a multi-component, tailored, and flexible intervention for caregivers of people with dementia that is focused on the evidence-based therapeutic strategy of problem solving. This practical volume is designed to guide clinicians through the process of implementing REACH OUT (Resources for Enhancing Alzheimer's Caregiver Health: Offering Useful Treatments) and to provide them with necessary tools to share with caregivers, with the goal of enhancing caregiver physical and mental health. Five common risk areas (home safety, caregiver health, social support, challenging behaviors, and emotional well-being) are described in the manual, and interventions are outlined that respect the nuances of each risk area. By beginning with an individualized risk assessment and being flexible to the needs and issues of the caregiver, the REACH OUT intervention helps clinicians identify risk areas and provides caregivers with tailored action plans to reduce risk and promote well-being.