Caregivers play an important role in society by giving support and assistance to people who are unable to take care of themselves because of their health, disability, or old age. However, their job is often hard while also being underpaid and undervalued, causing them to struggle paying bills.Underpayment has also caused some protest around the U.S. Most caregivers also experience high levels of stress and sometimes even health problems due to all the stress. This essay explains why caregivers are underpaid and some of the issues this has caused. Gould et al. The reason caregivers are underpaid is how much of care work is belittled. Caregiving has been associated with women more than men because of how nurturing they are with their family. …show more content…
Most caregivers work for companies that prioritize budgeting in a way they can be competitive in the market, resulting in low wages and limited wages for workers. Low wages have resulted in most caregivers needing to get a second job to be able to afford paying rent, plus all their other necessities, while also needing to buy extra stuff for their families.Having two jobs can be really hard and stressful, this can lead to caregivers needing help mentally but also sometimes causing health problems. Another problem is caregivers do not receive good benefits while their job can result in giving them mental and health problems most companies do not have benefits for their workers most of them do not have medical insurance which means if they do start having mental or health problems they have to pay their medical bills while still being underpaid which is not fair if these problems are coming from their job this makes it even harder for them causing more stress over caregivers life. Clients with dementia are often very aggressive towards their caregivers which ends up in them getting seriously injured Elderly people with dementia can be way more stronger than younger adults with the fact that caregivers can not do anything about that other than try to calm them down, this results in caregivers getting hurt at work by clients. If injured seriously, they …show more content…
Despite the challenges of the job, caregivers often receive very little compensation for their effort at work, which intensifies the feeling of being undervalued. Some caregivers experience higher levels of stress, impacting the ability of the care they can provide as well as affecting their mental health. This can have serious consequences for the wellbeing of the patients, who rely on caregivers for essential support with activities of daily living. Jake Bittle: These levels of stress can make it really difficult to live a normal life which can cause caregivers to not be able to go home, enjoy time with their families, have dinner, enjoy their time, rest. However, stress is a really difficult thing to deal with while still trying to live a normal, happy life. If caregivers were less overworked and paid more, this would result in a big turnover. More people would want to join this field without being stressed, broke, or overworked. Clients would also be better taken care of, making it worth all the money they pay each
Social work practice has a responsibility to adequately support the chosen lifestyle of unpaid carers as their efforts form an invaluable service which saves the economy £132 billion per year (Carers UK, 2015a). Without the thousands of carers, the health of many of society’s most vulnerable would suffer as the government would struggle to fund the costs of providing alternative care. Yet there is a growing reliance upon unpaid carers who are willing and able to provide the care which allows people to remain within their home. Firstly, the health issues of an aging and unhealthy population means there are increasing numbers of people aged 18+ who find it difficult to look after themselves. Secondly, there is an expectation that unpaid carers
(Davidson, F. G.) Due to the nature of dementia being a neuropsychological disorder, those affected by the disease tend to look like they will not require much care, which, in reality, they often require more care than the caregiver originally expected, leading to stress and burnout. Another effect caused by this can be the caregiver blaming themselves by feeling like they are failing to give proper care, which, in reality, can often be very far from the truth. If the caregiver does not receive help from anyone else, the task of watching over the victim becomes a daunting twenty for hour task. Sometimes, the caregiver won’t be allowed quality sleep. Over 66 percent of home caregivers suffer from some form of psychological or physical illness. The most common illness that is resulted from giving care to Alzheimer’s disease is depression. The caregiver needs to monitor their emotional well-being as well as the well-being as the person that they are giving care to. Usually, giving care to those with dementia is actually more stressful than giving care to those with cancer. When the caregiver is a family member and not a professional, the emotional toll is often even greater. It is important for caregivers to remember that they need to take care of themselves first and
Race, culture, religion and ethnicity all play a part in how we care for our elderly. Each family makes decisions based on background, experience, expectations, knowledge base, and economics. Most people would like to be able to care for their aging parent or spouse with as little disruption to lifestyle as possible. Alzheimer's Disease, however, is a full time commitment, not just eight hours a day, but "24/7", as the current idiom implies, the patient needs continuous care. Sleep habits are disturbed, wandering is common, medications must be carefully controlled, safety is always important. Home care soon becomes frustrating and exhausting if left to one or two caregivers. When the primary caregiver has his/her own medical needs to see to, is also aged, or is the parent of young children as well, the burden can become overwhelming. In-home care is a possibility as is placement in a live-in facility, but both are expensive alternatives.
A person with dementia or any type of mental illness is required to have some type of care around the clock for their safety, without this care they could put their life in danger or the people around them (Baillie, Lesley,2015). In the essay Wolff gives us how he cares for his mother, “She is attended 24/7 by two daily shifts of devoted caregivers. It is peaceful and serene” (Wolff, M pg. 210). Caring for a person with dementia is a process, especially when you still have other responsibilities to take care of. In the essay Wolff also expresses the amount of thought and love he put into getting the right place for his mother so she gets the best care possible for this weak and vulnerable time in her life “A national chain of residency for the elderly, the Arteria is more a real-estate business than a health-care enterprise, proving, at the hefty cost—the apartments are in the $8,000 -a-month range—quite a pleasant one-bedroom apartment in a prewar building, full of amenities (terraces and hairdressers) and graduations of assistance. But it is important to understand—” (Wolff, M pg.212). The cost of a nursing home is very expensive if you want the right one that applies the right care, love and patience that you would give your loved one if they were in your care. Web MD an
...health. The demanding physical duties contribute to stress and mental health problems and carers have higher levels of psychological distress than non-carers (Pinquart & Sörensen, 2006). Research suggests that the physical effects of caregiving stem primarily from psychological impact (such as depression) rather than direct physical labouring in the provision of care (Pinquart & Sörensen, 2006).
Informal supports, such as aid for housekeeping and running errands, are crucial to maintaining the lifestyle of individuals with Alzheimer’s in the community; however, the disease’s erosion of physical, cognitive, and communicative abilities often creates tremendous strain for family caregivers. Individuals and family caregivers dealing with Alzheimer’s often experience increasing social isolation as the disease’s progression undermines both mobility and the capacity for meaningful and appropriate engagement with the community (Banerjee et al., 2003). A number of studies have documented the physical and mental health costs borne by unsupported caregivers, and the link between caregiver stress and the institutionalization of their ill family members (Andren & Elmstahl, 2005; Banerjee et al., 2003). Taken together, the stress and isolation of dealing with Alzheimer’s disease undermine the health and quality of life of everyone involved, eventually precipitating institutionalization.
However, this type of care brings a lot of unconditioned difficulties due to the constant care they have to provide the elderly people with dementia. In a recent study it was discovered that caregivers experience stress differently given the circumstance this was shown by analysis of 234 people with dementia (Robertson, Zarit, Duncan, Rovine, & Femia, 2007). The findings were that caregivers in intense and distressed groups experienced higher behaviora...
Traditionally, in numerous societies as mothers and fathers grow older, their offspring physically repay their debts, emotionally and financially to their parents. They take care of them. In spite of the fact that this continues today in modern and postmodern societies families have themselves changed thus have the baselines of support and care. Increasingly, in numerous societies individuals come to live all alone or are placed in nursing care homes as they grow older there is placing an increased demand on the aged care system, as well as several health inequalities.
The nursing profession has often been dubbed as the backbone of the healthcare system because nurses are first in line when it comes to the patient’s medical care. Hence, nursing quality is one of the major factors that affects the well-being of the patient. Nurses and other healthcare professionals are expected to possess the characteristics of caring and empathy towards their patients. However, when there is too much care for patients and too little for one’s self, a negative effect to the overall health of the caregiver may develop. Additionally, nursing work is seen to be strenuous and challenging due to its need for specialization, complexity, and requirement to handle emergency situations (Benoliel et al., 1990; Su, 1993). Nurses, in effect, may feel overworked, underappreciated, frustrated and emotionally exhausted. These stressors that healthcare providers undergo are described by different terms including compassion fatigue, caregiver burnout and other related issues. In this paper, the nature of compassion fatigue and caregiver burnout are first defined and discussed. The symptoms as well as the coping strategies for these phenomena are then explained.
Primary caregivers are given an opportunity to take care of their loved ones; however, this job comes with a lot of stress and its consequences (Tsai, 2003). Primary caregivers take care of those with a chronic illness such as a family member or friend, are given a task that is so immense that it induces a lot of stress. In the previous decades, many research articles have developed studies which focused on stressors that were associated with the task of being the primary caregiver; yet, a theory surrounding this topic has not been developed until the early 2000s. Tsai (2003) developed the Theory of Caregiver Stress based on the Roy Adaptation Model to identify the caregiver’s response, perceptions, and adaptations to the stress and burden that primary caregiver’s experience.
-Sonnenberg, E. 2008.Caregiver Stress: The Impact of Chronic Disease on the Family. Available at: http://www.beliefnet.com/healthandhealing/getcontent.aspx?cid=74397.Access date 21 December 2013.
There are many issues that can be related to carers of people with dementia. The physical and psychological workload can be attributed as the most common concern among carers (Fjelltun et al., 2009). In addition, O’ Dowd (2007) has stated that carers are more likely to endure more anxiety, and feeling of liability which resulted to carers’ negligence of their own wellbeing. Moreover, carers suffer more stress than those who are not giving care to elderly with dementia. In relation to this, carers’ health is not interrelated with their emotional functioning (Bristow et al., 2008). These different reports suggested that carers undergo psychological issues more notable in comparison with just ordinary people. This can be regarded to carers’ exposure to a stressful environment.
Caregiving is an essential and very necessary aspect of the medical field. However, caregiving is also one of the most strenuous and stressful positions that exists. The patients require constant supervision, precise care and an extremely high level of patience, tolerance and skill. Eventually, this type of care begins to take a physical, emotional and financial toll on the caregiver. Because of the adverse effects of this profession, the Theory of Caregiver Stress was developed to aid those working in this difficult profession.
Many caregivers even suffer from many types of stress such as emotional,
Why are most of these responsibilities borne by women? The historical role of women is part of the answer. Despite the fact that we know instinctively that caregiving is valuable and important work, it has gone largely unrecognized and unacknowledged because we take it for granted. In the past, many parents felt that school education for girls was a waste of time, "A woman's place is in the home" was the traditional view. In those days, housewives had a tough life and were completely dependent on the men for money. There was a lot of drudgery in their lives and the men didn't help with the household chores, it was "women's work". The housewife worked from dawn to dusk and there was a lot of truth in the old saying; "a woman's work is never done".