Primary Caregiver

The family role of elders and sickness go hand in hand. Elders are held in a high regard being a well-respected member of their community. Due to this their families are very active in caring for their wellbeing. The majority of elders want to live on their own but when they cannot physically care for themselves, although they may move into their family’s home if care can’t be performed adequately. When this happens the elders will live in nursing homes but if family is still present, they are very active in their care. Overall when it comes to the care of any individual in the family the other members are active in giving emotional and spiritual support.

Caregivers play a crucial role in the care of dementia patients. Providing care for dementia patients results in stress related health impacts to the caregiver. The caregivers go through a journey with the dementia patient and need a strong support system. The best approach to dementia care is for health care providers to provide information to and monitor the caregiver, in addition to the dementia patient, encourage the caregiver to take care of themselves, to seek support, and to work as a team to provide the best care for the dementia patient.

The challenge America now faces is the number of people reaching retirement will double in number by 2030, and the U.S. population will increase almost 20 percent ("Our Aging Nation," 2015). The goal is for the elderly to maintain and live with independence and dignity, as well as, provide a wide range of professional health and social service expertise, home care, and residential support and services that will be needed ("Our Aging Nation," 2015). Since the number of caregivers needed for this population will not be able to meet the demands other resolutions are considered necessary.

Providing care for a family member can cause a tremendous strain for the primary caregiver in many areas of his/her life including financial, physical, and psychological which often results in both increased emotional needs and physical complications for the caregiver (Eun-Jeong Lee, DeDios, Fong, Simonette & Lee, 2013). As disabled older adults live longer lives, there is now an increasing need to rely on others to assist them with their day-to-day activities and activities of daily living (ADL), and that role often falls upon the spouses of the impaired or close family members (Barbosa, Figueirdo, Sousa & Demain, 2010). Research data provided by the National Alliance for Caregiving (NAC) estimated that there were approximately 44 million caregivers age 18 and over, with one third of those caregivers being male, whom were providing care to adults age 50 and above (National Alliance for Caregiving, 2015). These

When one thinks of grandparents, they are usually compared to as being a wiser adult who has had various positive and negative life experiences and throughout it all managed to keep their family together. The family structure has changed and more grandparents are forced into parenting for second generation children. Raising second generation children can be difficult for the grandparents who have been forced into the role of becoming a primary caregiver. Most children have a loving and trusting relationship with their grandparents, but when the roles have been forced to change the environment changes as well. With the mass amount of changes happening to the family structure, it was necessary to assist these secondary grandparents in learning how to promote and advocate in their new roles as secondary parents. With the structural changes faced by African Americans, it was appropriate to use this group because of the barriers and challenges faced and it allows for a replication with other groups. African American women can become dominant in an unfamiliar setting, so limiting the size of the group was justifiable and allowed for more interaction and engagement among participants. Using the family system theory would be necessary because this theory places an emphasis on reciprocal relationships and mutual influences between the individual components (Barker, p. 157).

In the U.S., there is an essential population of informal caregivers that devote a significant amount of time and resources to caring for older adults with impairments. However, due to the informal nature of these caregiver relationships, there is a lack of knowledge and understanding of this population. In “A National Profile of Family and Unpaid Caregivers Who Assist Older Adults with Health Care Activities (2016)”, Wolff and colleagues highlight the importance of understanding the responsibilities of caregivers and how this may affect their own health, as well as the need to identify the basic characteristics of informal caregivers. Therefore, the primary objective of this study by Wolff and colleagues (2016) was to characterize the common responsibilities of caregivers, their utilization of supportive services, as well as to identify the effects of caregiver-related responsibilities on their health. Ultimately, this information may inform future public health services and health care systems to provide much needed support and resources to these caregivers.

The number of seniors in the United States is growing rapidly. The costs to cover medical expenses is increasing as well, causing many family members to become caregivers. Unfortunately, without receiving specialized training, some seniors may be at a disadvantage when they receive care from their family members. Caregivers must recognize the signs many seniors exhibit when it is time for a community that focuses on senior living in Virginia Beach.

There is a correlation of increased demand for care of people with dementia and older carers as the overall population lives longer (Dury, 2014). Greater reliance on families to give care results in many older carers giving care to older family members (Dury, 2014). Studies have shown a third of all carers account for this age group and one in five carers is the spouse of the person being cared for (Lafferty et al., 2014). The combination of being an older carer and having physical or mental health issues can increase the burden of

In Canada, there are approximately 120,000 people that have been diagnosed with dementia or a related condition. Dementia is a progressive mental disorder characterized as the deterioration of intelligence and personality (Myers, 2009). By 2031 the number of people living with dementia will drastically increase to 750,000 due to the aging baby boomers population (Statistics Canada, 2013; Black, et al., 2010). People living with dementia require assistance with activities of daily living (ADL); this assistance is often performed by a family member acting as a caregiver (Black, et al., 2010). A caregiver is a person who contributes to another person 's social, medical, environmental and economic resources (Myers, 2009). Although family

In addition, eldercare has also become a more complex institution that involves six key stakeholder groups, which are care recipients, community-based service agencies, employers, government programs, healthcare providers, informal caregivers, and nongovernmental programs (Bookman & Kimbrel, 2011). Unfortunately, there are times they each appear to operate as separate entities, which leads to occasional overlaps in care, that interferes with their objectives of ensuring that older adults can age with dignity and that informal caregivers receive their appropriate assistance and attention according to Bookman and Kimbrel (2011). There is a mounting body of literature that proposes that in addition to providing an array of instrumental and emotional

A caregiver can be a relative, a paid worker in the home, a nursing home staff member, or another person. The elder can be exploited by their caretakers, including the failure to use the helpless person’s income and resources to provide for their care. Most of the abusers have a common gain with the abuse such as the elder’s money or property. Some have no gain and abuse to abuse. Family members may see their elderly relative as a nuisance or a financial lighthouse. They care for nothing more than to have the money or the belongings then the person. Caregivers in faculties such as nursing home staff are more likely to inflict physical or sexual abuse. They do not treat the elderly person in a way that is fit for the job of a caretaker. A caregiver is more at risk of being an abuser if they have personal problems, such as alcohol or medication abuse, mental or emotional illness, or low self-esteem, or were abused as a child. Elders are more at risk of becoming a victim is they are isolated, feel loneliness, went through a recent loss, have mental or physical disabilities, have a lack of knowledge in finances, or have unemployed family members and/or have substance abusing difficulties. Elderly women are more commonly reported. Elderly men are still reported just not as frequently. The older the senior is the more at risk. Seniors living with a caregiver or depend on someone else for assistance or care are more likely to receive abuse. If they have any type of mental illness like dementia, they can be easier to control and abuse. Elders can be more susceptible to abuse if they have individual characteristics such as loyalty to the caregiver, willing to accept blame, socially isolated or have had a poor relationship with a caregiver in the past, or have had problems with alcohol, medication, or drug abuse. Also if the elder is trusting they can fall to abuse of anyone wanting easy

Overall, people who take care of dementia patients must handle health care responsibilities of the person with dementia more often than caregivers of people who do not have dementia. Some of the common tasks outlined by the Alzheimer’s Association include assisting with daily activities around the house, managing the medications, helping with activities of daily living such as getting dressed and bathing, and providing support for the person with dementia as the disease progresses. Dementia residents require significantly more assistance with activities of daily living and help around the house in comparison to other older adults (Alzheimer’s Association, 2016). Due to the time consuming responsibilities and the increasing level of care required during this stage, this might be a time when informal caregivers outsource some the responsibility to formal caregivers and facilities equipped for the level of intensity required.

Declining health and depression are two of the largest reasons families look into assisted living homes for aging loved ones. Making sure that the healthcare needs of the elderly are met becomes a priority for every family as the roles begin to reverse from the parent being the primary caregiver of their children to the children being responsible for meeting the needs of aging parents. Diseases such Alzheimer’s and dementia are very difficult for not only the

In the U.S, one in four will be aged 60 years and older by 2050 (U.S. Census Bureau). This represents an overwhelming number of people who will either be in the caretaker role or be the ROC. Like today, most of the care will be provided by informal unpaid caregivers. The number of informal unpaid caregivers is expected to rise from 20 million in 2000 to 37 million in 2050 (Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation [ASPE], 2003). Because of the burden of care giving, many caregivers will experience depression, poor health and quality of life (Etters, Goodall, & Harrison, 2008). Their well-being is an important public health concern.

According to Hooyman and Kiyak, primary caregivers (i.e., the one family member who assumes most of the responsibility) are generally adult children (41 percent), followed by partners or spouses (38.4 percent) and other family members and friends (p.401). Sometimes being the primary caregiver can be a lonely place. It is often hard to have someone depend on you for everything while still trying to make an attempt to be someone’s spouse, mother, sister, daughter, and friend. You once had a name, and that name has been replaced with primary caregiver. Gone are the days where you able to just pick up and go, on a moment’s notice or on a whim. Gone are they days where a vacation from work, is just that, a vacation from work. A vacation from work