...Caring for the Caregiver Paul Cobb Liberty University Abstract Those who provide are care in times of emergency, trauma, and grief are at great risk for developing health related issues and complications arising from providing services to those in need. The stress associated with professions such as doctors, nurses, clergy, and family member caregivers can prove disastrous to the emotional, physical and mental well-being of these responders. Depression, burnout, and compassion fatigue are but a few of the negative results of the continued stress that is placed upon caregivers in their day-to-day dealings with the suffering. More research must be conducted to examine ways to provide awareness to the caregiver and to provide awareness training to physicians and mental health professionals who are consulted by those who are experiencing symptoms associated with caregiving. Furthermore, research must be conducted to ensure that caregivers are made aware of the resources available to them through religious institutions, healthcare providers, and social support so they may reach out and be helped. Caring for the Caregiver The purpose of this research paper is to examine the impact that caring for others has upon those within the caregiving profession. Many studies have been conducted that link caregiver stress with negative effects upon the emotional, mental and physical health of the caregiver. The American Journal of Nursing (2008) states that "the increasing numbers of...
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...Reasons Why Contracting a Caregiver Isn't Enough Choosing “personalized” home care is an excellent solution which provides higher quality care for your loved one. There are a few important reasons to consider when choosing a home caregiver. Your choice has the power to enhance the quality of life that your loved one has. Custom home care solutions can provide an effective way to select a caregiver you trust. Also, the quality of care given is crystal clear, and utilizes modern technologies which are user friendly. It isn’t enough to hire a common caregiver. It is important to choose a home care solution that is complete and can be relied upon. Using a personalized solutions for seniors can enhance over health, accelerate healing and create a lasting bond with carefully selected caregivers. Personalized Home Care There are quite a few positive reasons for selecting personalized home care. One of the aspects that leads the advantages of choosing a home care plan that is custom designed is the bonding experience seniors have with their caregivers. Traditional home care dose not utilize a process to find a home care giver that truly can bond with your loved one. Personalized home care solutions are more complete. Caregivers may spend numerous hours per week with your loved one. This aspect is important because it provides a comfortable...
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...that allows caregivers to hold and sustain themselves in emotional balance while holding patients’ despair in one hand and their hopefulness in the other (2009). Being able to identify the warning signs, know the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of you as a caregiver, and knowing different coping skills and ways to deal with the stressors of juggling life’s activities can help us as caregivers to keep ourselves in balance. Warning Signs The symptoms of compassion fatigue are similar to those of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, only instead of the symptoms being based upon a trauma that you directly experienced, they are due to the trauma that your clients have experienced Five of the major concepts of Compassion Fatigue are as follows: 1. Having a feeling of being weak, tired and/or rundown as a result of my work as a helper. Sometimes, with juggling so much in our lives, we can get carried away with our responsibilities to others and forget to take care of our own needs. I’ve seen people juggle multiple jobs, school, family, and religion, and in doing so, and they were so busy taking care of everyone else’s needs that they never had time for their own needs or pleasure. They stopped reading for enjoyment, stopped spending time with friends, and didn’t sleep as well, which resulted in a constant feeling of being tired. 2. Outbursts of anger or irritability with little provocation. Being grumpy, or snappy, can cause a hardship between a caregiver and their...
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...Caregivers are known to present symptoms of depression and the feeling of burden. The Alzheimer’s Association (2014) discusses the public health impact of Alzheimer’s disease, including prevalence and incidence, mortality rates, costs of care, and overall effect on caregivers and society. Their report provides important information on the role of caregivers to people with Alzheimer’s. They inform that most of the caregivers to people with Alzheimer’s are immediate family members, relatives, or friends. The Alzheimer’s Association (2014) established that in the year 2013 unpaid caregivers to patients with Alzheimer’s disease provided over 17.7 billion hours of informal care. They also looked at who is providing care for these individuals and “found that 65% of caregivers are women; 21% were aged 65 years and older; 44% had some college education or had received a degree; 64% were currently employed, a student, or a homemaker; and 71% were married or in a long-term relationship” (Alzheimer’s Association, 2014, p. e64). Although the help provided by family members of people with Alzheimer’s disease is similar to the help provided by caregivers of people with other conditions, dementia caregivers tend to provide more extensive...
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...Emotional and Psychological Burden on Informal Caregivers- In general, all articles explain that this is an area where more research needs to be done, especially in cancer patients. This research should extend into the bereavement period and beyond the palliative care phase. Burden is defined as a predictor of health and likely to have an adverse impact on a caregiver’s future (Nijboer). Caregivers often feel responsible, they make little use of professional services, and may become ill themselves. Lower socioeconomic status are assumed to have a higher burden, which leads to poorer health. The availability of social support and social contacts was found to be an important determinant of caregiver’s well-being. “Informal caregivers need to be recognized as equivalent members of the health care team”. In general, informal caregivers report anxiety, depression, stress, frustration, and fear when caregiving. Using surveys, it was found in one study that anxiety and depression are the leading factors that play into the burden. 55% of male and 36% of females were found to have moderate or severe anxiety (Oechsle), 36% of male and 14% of females were found to have severe or moderate depression. No significant differences found, but there was a trend that male caregivers were more stressed and depressed. Another article (William Haley) reports that particularly burdensome stressors is managing physical care, symptoms, and treatments, emotional support, and watching the...
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...generally remember these things later. However, individuals who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease may forget things more often, but they do not remember them again. The incidence of Alzheimer’s disease has dramatically increased because people are living longer. This is a result of advancements in medical technology that are increasing the human life span. That being said, now there is more responsibility placed on the individual and their caregivers to provide a supportive environment to combat this disease. Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive brain disorder that causes a gradual, irreversible cognitive deterioration. The individual experiences a significant decline in their memory, language skills, perception of space and eventually, their ability to be self-sufficient and independent. Alzheimer’s disease takes a toll on the patients as well as their caregivers. “Being a caregiver for an ill or disabled loved one is widely recognized as a threat to caregiver’s quality of life” (Poulin et al 2010). The diagnosis of this disease affects the caregivers on physical, psychological, and social levels. Family, friends, and caregivers suffer from pain and stress as they witness their loved one experiencing the progression of the disease. Background “Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, accounting for about 60% of all diagnosed cases” (Tampi 2006). The onset of Alzheimer’s disease is gradual. In the earlier stages, patients experience mild impairments, like learning...
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...Student-Caregiver Scholarship Hello, I’m La’Ronica Craven a sophomore at Wells College and I care for my great grandma, Zelda Klaczko, three times a week. She is a retired, very polite, strong-willed, independent woman that doesn’t like to ask for help or rely on anyone, that has volunteered at a local church in Camillus for several years. My great grandma had a stroke on April 26th, 2018 the day before my uncle Doug passed away on April 27th 2018 from cancer. With finals right around the corner, I had to learn how to grieve, cope, and adjust to caring for my great grandma three days out of the week, on-top of my part-time job and studying for finals that started on May 7th. I definitely overworked myself the last couple of weeks of school. Though it wasn’t easy, I was able to adjust to my new lifestyle without my uncle and with caring for great grandma. Due to stress, grieving, being a full-time student, being a caregiver for my great grandma, and working part-time at Wegmans, I had gotten very little sleep, but despite all of this I was able to ace all of my finals. I’ve been there to help her get better and feel some sort of normalcy after both of the devastating events in April from...
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...Assessment Tools, Caregivers, and Aim. This website allows one to click on each of the sections/ subsections, and to go straight to their paragraphs. Under the first subsection, Falls and Pediatric Inpatients Falls, it talks about the authors and their opinion on falls. The authors are MD's in pediatric nursing. Hospitals are a very busy place to work, especially since they’re dealing with people all day. Many MDs and RNs have a ton of experience with dealing with healthcare and dangerous situations. I believe a hospital being considered a safe place is in greater focus rather than dangerous even with all the risk factors involved; simply because of all the experience within the building. “In terms of being an indicator of the quality of health care, many hospitals are trying to take all necessary measures to reduce falls that occur in hospitals.“ Hospitals are meant to keep the patient safe, and heal them.” I believe they wrote this article to inform everyone that hospitals are so strict because of the possibility that a child could fall and further injure himself. “Caregivers' attention, concentration, fatigue and sleep conditions, stress level and anxiety are the most important factors influencing inpatient pediatric falls. This makes caregivers the most important environmental factor associated with falls in hospitalized children.” Caregivers are known to keep a safe environment and to provide as much care as possible. This quote suggests that it’s hard for the caregiver to always...
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...When the patients first arrive for their dialysis treatment their weights are obtained in kilograms. The patients are then positioned safely with their feet elevated and were given multiple pillows for added comfort. Then caregiver obtains the patients vital signs such as blood pressure, pulse and temperature. The blood pressure cuff is left in place on the opposite extremity of the access site, so the patient blood pressure can be continually monitored throughout the treatment. The access site is then assessed for any infection or abnormalities, cleaned and connected to the dialysis tubing where patency is checked. One the treatment begins the caregivers assess the patient regularly for an complications such as shortness of breath, muscles...
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...Informal Caregivers Theresa A. Patterson Mount Aloysius College Abstract Informal caregivers, or family members who provide care to their physically or cognitively impaired relatives, are leading providers of services to elderly individuals. However, caregivers frequently experience symptoms of depression, stress and anxiety. Also, caregivers may suffer from physical or psychological distress as a result of these symptoms. The author examined the effects of depression, stress and anxiety and suggested an assessment instrument to gauge levels of anxiety. In addition, strengths and limitations of this approach were delineated. The author hypothesized that caregivers would exhibit higher anxiety scores than non-caregivers. This hypothesis was tested by comparing a group of informal caregivers to a group of non-caregivers. Furthermore, recommendations for reduction of stress and anxiety symptoms were made. Anxiety Scores of Informal Caregivers Family members of elderly, impaired individuals in the United States provide the majority of necessary daily care for their relatives (Sheehan & Nuttall, 1988). These caregivers may be described as informal: individuals who provide unpaid care to a friend or family member out of love and respect for the impaired person (George & Gwyther, 1986). Unfortunately, many caregivers reported significant stress, depression and anxiety (Sheehan & Nuttall, 1988). Research demonstrated a correlation between caregivers’ depressive...
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...The baby boomers have created an increased population of individuals 65 and older (Wilson et al, 2006). As these individuals are living longer, plans must be set in place to support them not only financially but also physically (Wilson et al., 2006). Some individuals look towards institutional facilities or independent living facilities to place their aging relatives, and/or spouse. Elderly individuals would like to stay in their normal environment for as long as possible, but this is often not an option as sometimes the caregivers do not feel they can fully meet the growing needs of these individuals (M. Smith, personal communication, March 27, 2018). Agencies like Diversified Training Consultant Group are making continued care in the home...
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...Researchers have traced the historical development of an awareness of family violence in terms of the 1960s being the decade of sensitivity to child abuse, the 1970s to spouse abuse, and the 1980s to elder abuse (Kosberg, 1988). Elder abuse became a public issue in 1978 with testimony given to a congressional subcommittee on the abuse of elderly parents (Wolf, 1988). In 1988, the National Aging Resource Center on Elder Abuse (NARCEA) conducted several national surveys that revealed problems across states relative to the reporting of elder abuse. Although authorized in 1987 but not funded until 1990, the Elder Abuse Prevention Program was established under the Older Americans Act, enacted in 1975 (Goldstein, 1995). Greater awareness of this...
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...What Martin’s father created was an environment that provided safe, compassionate, competent and ethical care for Martin (Canadian Nurses Association, 2008). To illustrate, Martin’s father sustained his own version of ethical practice by trust, respect, professional intimacy, empathy, as well as, power equality while providing beneficial to Martin’s care (CRNBC, 2006). Considering, Martin’s father preserved Martin’s dignity, while promoting justice for Martin furthermore, assisting his health and well being (CNA, 2008). How Martin’s father maintained these ethical practices is by being accountable every day for Martin’s care creating a positive environment, for Martin to not be embarrassed, or self conscious (CAN, 2008). Subsequently, the...
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...Infants and Social/Emotional Development Maria Collica Empire State College Infants and Social/Emotional Development 1 Is it a given that the quality of nurturing of the caregiver plays the biggest role in the social and temperamental well being of the child? Yes and no. Infants are born with predetermined characteristics within them. How a caregiver reacts to the infants needs, will certainly be a factor in the child’s well being as they grow. Caregivers, usually mothers, which is the prototype, are the ones who form the first attachment to an infant. How we help the infant grow on these attachments will set the stage for his/her social well being. Attachment relationships should provide a foundation for social learning. Infants of depressed mothers are at risk. They show depressed social behavior, not only with their mothers but also when interacting with strangers. (Steinberg, Vandell, Bornstein. Development: Infancy through Adolescence p153) Researchers have found that attachment patterns established early in life can lead to a number of outcomes. Children who had a healthy and secure attachment during infancy will have a stronger...
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...psychological connectedness between human beings. Bowlby strongly believed that the earliest bonds were formed by children with their caregivers have a tremendously large impact that continues throughout life. As suggested, attachment also serves to keep the infant close to the mother, which allows improvement throughout the child's chances of survival. The central theme of attachment theory is that primary caregivers who are available and responsive to an infant's needs allow the child to develop a sense of security. The infant knows that the caregiver is dependable, which creates a secure base for the child to then explore the world. Attachment patterns that are established early in life can lead to a number of outcomes. For example, children who are securely attached as infants tend to develop stronger self-esteem and better self-reliance as they grow older, opposed to children who do not have this opportunity throughout the beginning stages of life. These children also tend to be more independent, perform better in school, have successful social relationships, and experience less depression and anxiety. Secure attachment is marked by distress when separated from caregivers and are joys when the caregiver returns. Children feel secure and able to depend on their adult caregivers when the opportunity is given to show strengths and bonds at a young age. When the adult leaves, the child may be upset but he or she feels assured that the parent or caregiver will return. When frightened...
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