...Caregivers of Dementia patients Vascular dementia is the second most common form of dementia after Alzheimer’s disease. Caused by problematic supply of blood to the brain, symptoms include challenging communication, depression and anxiety, strokes, physical weakness or paralysis, confusion, changes in behaviour and difficulties in walking and unsteadiness. This paper discusses the problems faced by caregivers of patients suffering from vascular dementia who are above the age of 65 and possible recommendations to improve their plight through the review of the movie, Amour (a movie about an octogenarian couple, Georges and Anne, where Anne develops vascular dementia) and current literature pertaining to the topic. Georges “Put yourself in my place. Didn’t you ever think it could happen to me, too? Anne: “Of course I did. But imagination and reality have little in common.” Anne’s sudden speech arrest and frozen stare at the breakfast table with no recollection afterward are the first signs of a partial seizure. Caregivers, like Georges, who are not prepared for looking after patients are under pressure because of their increasing needs. Georges does not seem to mind this responsibility of taking care of her initially, but Anne’s condition deteriorates fast. She experiences profound right sided weakness and is bound to the wheelchair. Georges struggles to lift her from the wheelchair and make her sit on a chair or go the bathroom. Increased stress in his behaviour is...
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...Introduction Heart failure is a difficult disease to manage; and every patient’s family experiences the disease uniquely. Caring for a sick family member is never an easy task. For years, families have relied on hospitals to care for sick loved ones; however some families need to care for their loved more than what just a hospital can facilitate. In the article “Family Caregivers’ Experiences of Caring for Patients with Heart Failure” by (Etemadifar et al., 2015, p.153-160) the level of evidence in this research article is a level IV. This type of level includes consensus panels and opinion of respected authorities. Research Problem and Hypothesis The research problem is the poor heath condition of the caregivers and patients with heart...
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...Caring Attributes in Nursing Kristen M. Brandner University of Alaska Anchorage Caring Attributes in Nursing My mother was my caretaker after I had knee surgery. She showed me how compassionate caring can be huge in helping me recover quickly and safely. Caring has many attributes, but two that I experienced were compassion and trust. Caring is the foundation of Nursing. It is what the profession is built upon and the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) School of Nursing (SON) encompasses caring attributes within their curriculum. There are many other aspects and qualities that classify a “good” nurse. Being knowledgeable, communicative, attentive, non-judgmental, compassionate, nurturing, and paying attention to detail, are all important. However, displaying caring behavior is one attribute a nurse can implement in order to really reach to a patient and promote a safe and expedient recovery. In April of 2003, when I was 15, I had a horrible ski racing crash in Mammoth Mountain, California. My ACL was a complete tear and I had partially torn my meniscus. A month later, I was scheduled for surgery here, in Anchorage, to have a full ACL replacement via cadaver graft and meniscal repair. The surgery itself, I was not scared for. It was the post-surgery concerns: how long would my recovery take? Would I react to the medication? Would I be able to become active in a timely matter? Timely enough to participate in my ski racing endeavors once again? How was I going...
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...Combating Compassion Fatigue and Burnout for Caregivers and Professionals Grand Canyon University HLT 310V Gail M Biggers 3/7/2011 1 Ms Marie Armbruster March 6, 2011 3/7/2011 2 Health care professionals and care givers devote their time caring for others and often forget to care for themselves. The end result is the conditions known as “burnout” or “ compassion fatigue”. The care giver and health care professional can take steps to prevent fatigue and mend their physical and mental health. 3/7/2011 3 The definition of “burnout” according to Christina Maslach, a psychologist and first supporter of the challenge, defined “burnout” as a syndrome of emotional exhaustion. Herbert Freudenberger who declares that he coined the term says that burnout is a loss of energy and the feeling of being overwhelmed by others problems. 3/7/2011 4 Since caregivers are needed to perform strenuous and physical activities, this can stress the body. This can consist of: Lifting a patient, (in and out of bed, wheelchair, bathtub, or car). Turning the patient, bathing, feeding, cooking for the patient as well as for themselves. Also additional shopping. 3/7/2011 5 Emotional demands can present a problem. When caring for someone who is ill or disabled it can be emotionally stressful. Often the person you are caring for may not remember you, have difficulty following directions or telling you what they need especially if the patient is diagnosed with dementia. When...
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...humane, sustainable system to take bold. Meanwhile, we can each support our local community, just as we need healthy cells to have healthy organs, we need healthy neighborhoods and towns. Eiinlish |, Piirn iple^ of Fiiwncidl Permatullure. Stiljri Real Channel websile. hltp://soldri.com/bloR/íp-1730. Accessed Oi:tober 20. 2008, t idl Permdcullure. Eironomits on our terms. www,financial()ermaculture.org/ definition. Aicessed December 2. 2008. Tran'.ition Towns WIKI. http://iransitiontown5.()rg. Accessed tiïecember 31, 2008. Shorts headaches or stomachaches, and other health problems. Caregivers need to take care of themselves before tbey become physically ill or exhausted. They need to make self-care a priority before they crash. In the article "Caring for Family, Caring for Yourself," Jane E. Brody makes several excellent suggestions for selfcare and refers caregivers to groups like Family Caregiver Alliance {www.caregiver.org) for additional support. Eating nutritious meals and getting enough sleep are basic. If sleep is interrupted throughout the night, taking naps while the relative sleeps during...
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...TOPIC: “What are the challenges to the individuals, family caregivers and healthcare services for people having Alzheimer’s disease?” With prolonged life expectancy , the population of many developed countries are ageing recently. The prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease with the decline of cognitive abilities increases along with the aging population. There is also a rise of persons younger than 65 having this disease (Cox, 2013). Take Hong Kong as an example ,a research (Yu et al., 2012) estimated the number of people with dementia would rise from 103,433 in 2009 to 332,688 in 2039, with an increase of 222%. Consequently , this phenomenon has brought about an worldwide public health challenge to the individuals, family caregivers and healthcare services. Individuals having this disease face the problem of the loss of independence and dignity. LOPEZ (2003) examines that the major symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease are the significant memory loss , confusion , weaken communication and judgment ability. They have difficulty in doing familiar tasks and need to depend on others to take care of their daily lives such as dressing , toileting and eating. Moreover, Cox (2013) points out that those who are young may be forced to have involuntary retirement due to the inability in concentration , learning new things and making decisions. A sense of uselessness of the patients may arise. Family caregivers of patients with Alzheimer’s disease are facing the challenge of handling the...
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...Many experience depression. Family Caregiver Alliance (as cited in McMillan et al., 2006) has estimated that over fifty million Americans assist a family member with a disability or illness on a regular basis. Of these ill patients, many require extensive care from family members. Caregivers of cancer patients especially experience very high stress levels. They are often burdened with physical exhaustion, emotional distress, and financial worries from loss of time at work to care for their loved one (Emanuel & Emanuel, as cited in McMillan et al., 2006). The purpose of the study I reviewed was “to determine whether hospice plus a coping skill training intervention improved family caregivers’ quality of life, burden, coping, and mastery, compared with hospice plus emotional support and usual hospice care (McMillan et al., 2006, p. 214)”. To participate in the study, caregivers had to be caring for adult cancer patients, both had to give consent, both had to be able to read and comprehend English, both had to have achieved at least a sixth grade education, and both had to achieve a minimun score of seven on the Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire (McMillan et al., 2006). This questionnaire is a tool used to assess organic brain deficits in the elderly. It measured orientation, remote memory, and ability to complete a serial subtraction task (Pfeiffer, as cited in McMillan et al., 2006). Subjects were excluded if the caregiver was also being treated for cancer...
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...Running head: COMPASSION FATIGUE: CARING FOR THE CAREGIVER Compassion Fatigue: Caring for the Caregiver Kimberly Flowers Grand Canyon University Spirituality in Health Care HLT-310V Patricia Mullen March 24, 2012 Compassion Fatigue: Caring for the Caregiver Introduction Compassion represents an “acknowledgement of another’s suffering and is accompanied by the expression of a desire to ease or end that suffering.” (Van der Cingal, 2009, p. 124) This is a fundamental characteristic usually found in health care workers and nurses especially. In one twelve hour shift, a nurse’s job can change from taking vitals and administering medications to performing life saving measures or even holding a dying patient’s hand as they transition from this world to the next. And in that same few hours, a myriad of emotions can flood the soul with such force it leaves one drained and exhausted. This would be a very difficult roller coaster of emotions for anyone, but multiply that times three or four days per week for many years. It is no surprise that health care workers are extremely susceptible to emotional and physical fatigue, also known as compassion fatigue. Compassion fatigue is that fatigue brought on by giving so much of one’s self for an extended period of time without taking time to revive or replenish one’s own physical, emotional and spiritual needs. This paper will explore the nature and causes of five major...
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...Savages Similarities According, to a recent study by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, caregivers earn about 16k-25k a year. Now, depending on where you live, that yearly salary is usually not enough to provide a comfortable or most importantly, stable lifestyle. Most patients are unable to understand or comprehend basic tasks. Additionally, caregiving is one of the most stressful and time consuming jobs you can take on. With that in mind, caregiving is not only a poor paying job but also one of the most overwhelming. Nancy Gibbs wrote that “…30% to 40% of caregivers suffer from depression.” In The Savages, Wendy Savage goes through stress after picking up her father Lenny from the airport. Wendy even begins to struggle with her mental capabilities. For example she begins to take medication to relax herself. Similarly, Gibbs and the Savages expose challenges that people may face when caring for elderly, namely the lack of support that caregivers or more specifically women receive and also the lack of information or preparation that families have. For example, in The Savages, Eduardo is the first caregiver that is introduced. In his scene the Eduardo was caring for Doris, Lenny’s girlfriend, he was being rude and degrading towards Lenny. For instance, when he removed the cereal bowl to make Leonard flush his own toilet. This scene can reflect the need for further assistance for caregivers. In this example, Eduardo is not being paid to care for Lenny and this creates a more stressful...
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...I believe that fathers are important in attachment. There is evidence that suggesting that when fathers take on the role of being the main caregiver they begin to adopt behaviors more traditional with mothers. Tiffany Field (1978) videotaped 4-month old babies in face-to-face interaction with father as primary caregivers and mother as secondary caregivers, and fathers as secondary caregivers and mothers as primary caregivers. Like moms, primary caregiver fathers spent more time imitating, holding, and smiling at infants than the secondary caregiver fathers. This is important when developing an attachment with the baby. This implies that dads can be the more nurturing/caring attachment figure. What is crucial to the attachment relationship is how caring/responsive the caregiver is not the gender of the parent. Das induce more excitement and tend to play more physically than moms. Fathers reacting correctly to a child’s expression predicts positive social and emotional models of behavior later in adolescence and childhood. This predicts that dads instill a sense of confidence to explore with relationships (Berk, L, 2006). Farrel believes that dads teach children to respect other’s boundaries and set clearer boundaries than mothers. Kids see their dad as powerful and authoritative (Franz C., et al 1990). In the context of single parenting, children were better off in the custody of the dad (Clark-Stewart & Hayward 1996). In Asian school boys the highest correlation with aggression...
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...the interventions that social workers employ in the service of caregivers of people diagnosed with Serious and Persistent Mental Illnesses. It explores if certain demographics of the caregiver should guide the type of intervention social workers utilize when providing caregiver support. Introduction A. Caregiving. The act of caregiving is not unfamiliar, but the term “caregiving” is relatively new, with the first recorded use of the word in 1966 (Caregiving, 2010). Sixty-five million Americans, which comprise 29% of the United States (U.S.) population, have served as unpaid family caregivers to an adult or a child (Caregiving in the United States, 2009). Caregiving is multi-dimensional. For example, family caregiving,...
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...There are many caregivers who will also handle respite care. Respite care is the term for short-term care that is professional help. The respite caregiver usually will COM to your home and get to meet and greet the family and the patient that they will be tending for. As a respite caregiver, they will learn the everyday house, and where all the treatment or medications are stored. A respite caregiver is offered by local services such a non-profit organization, church, religious groups, or a community organization that wants to give back to others whom are in need. There is also another respite service that is usually specialized and can stay for a few days or as long as several weeks. This can give the caregiver some time to hand things like go on a vacation or have some ‘me’ for themselves. With short term care Medicaid and Medicare may pay you for some of the cost of helping a family member directly in receiving respite care. Caregiving Policy: (2 Pages)...
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...Personal Philosophy of Nursing Jessica Pons NUR/391 January 28, 2013 Sharon Thompson Personal Philosophy of Nursing To formulate my personal philosophy of nursing, I had to look at what my core values were. I am a kind, compassionate, honest, and caring. I chose nursing as my profession because nursing is something that always has been in my blood. I believe human life is precious and is to be valued. Not only do I consider my patient’s wellbeing, but I also look at the wellbeing of the families. Families take care of the patient when they are discharged. I also look at my fellow health care workers. Without being able to work alongside them, I could not take care of the patient properly. Lastly, I consider my own health. An unhealthy nurse cannot properly do their job. Caring for patients and their families, working well with coworkers, and taking care of your own health is what makes a difference because no matter how small the task, little things add up to big things. That is why I believe the world will get better one small step at a time. My Patients My patients are human beings. They are people with feelings and souls, and they are to be treated with just as much respect as everyone does. It does not matter if they are on their deathbed or just coming in because they have a cough. Being a positive role model is an important philosophy. I was raised watching my mother be a nurse and always enjoyed going to work with her and helping with small things such as...
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...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 new information or remembering where they...
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...There numerous of people suffering from dementia in today's society, and many caretakers to provide the care for the family member or others with dementia. The US rates over seven hundred thousands of caregivers who care for people with dementia. Caregiver’s personal cost and the risk of their own health is at state, individuals who care for people with dementia normally have a high morbidity. Mostly encountering effects are influenced by the caregiver demographic and personal characteristics, resources and support system. Even consideration of the patient's level of impairment, hours caring for them and if a spouse or adult child. Although the caregivers health is not the responsibility of the patient's health, caring for someone is a clinical...
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