Caregiving for an elderly person, or family member, can often result in stress for a caregiver (Bevans, 2012; Haley, 2003; Weitzner, Haley, & Chen, 2000; McMillan, 2005; Ugalde, Krishnasamy, & Schofield, 2011). This is a time during the family life cycle that the family often needs to re-arrange their structure, and methods of operating. Characteristic of this stage is the shifting of the relationship between an elderly adult and his/her adult child, specifically because the elderly parent begins to rely on the child for increased support and assistance. This is because in later adulthood, people begin to age and can become ill or frail (Anderson & Sabatelli, 2011; McGoldrick, & Walsh, 2003). As part of caring for an individual, or family member, …show more content…
However, there have been fewer positive effects explored, and studied within literature. Despite the limited research, understanding the ways in which caregivers can have positive experiences is essential to noting the benefits of the caregiving experience, and the ways each affects the caregiver. A caregiver may experience increases in self-esteem, satisfaction, personal growth, and life meaning (Anderson & Sabatelli, 20011; Haley, 2003; Weitzner et al., 2000). Throughout performing the role of caregiver, people may experience growth in their level of competence surrounding the person's ability to care take, as well as one's proficiency in managing the stress, thus strengthening one's capacity to continue to fulfill the role (Anderson & Sabatelli, 2011; Kim et al., 2006; Roberto & Jarrott, 2008). The person can also experience a sense of achievement through the role (Roberto & Jarrott, 2008), in that he/she may often feel as though they can repay his/her parents for the care and support one received growing up, and can experience a sense of gratification in doing so (Anderson & Sabatelli, 2011; Haley, 2003; Weitzner et al., 2000). An individual may also experience love, affection, meaning, commitment, a sense of reward, and as though he/she are being challenged (Nijboer et al., 1998; Schulz …show more content…
Over the course of the caretaking role, it is important that the caregiver be surrounded by his/her own support system to provide the caregiver with encouragement and optimism (Haley, 2003). A high or low degree of social supports for the caregiver may also play a role in how well one copes with his/her new role, and one's ability to continue to fulfill it. Research has shown a positive correlation between increased levels of social support and caregiver health (Nijboer et al., 1998; Schulz & Sherwood, 2008). An increase in social supports is correlated to people that are happier, live healthier lives, and live longer than those who do not have support from others (Schulz & Sherwood, 2008). It's also important that caregivers be provided with support from healthcare professionals who are knowledgeable about the family member's sickness, and can also aid in making medical decisions. Professionals can help the caregiver cope, as well as decreasing the amount of stress he/she is facing (Haley, 2003). Just as essential is that the family members are able to support one another throughout the sickness. Depending upon the type of sickness, it can be viewed as a loss for families, and grief can often present itself. During this time, it is important that the family system is able to unite
Mollie is the patient in our case study. Mollie lives with her daughter and son in law, both in their 70’s. A home health aide assists Mollie five days a week for three hours each day. At age 94, Mollie is an older adult, considered to be part of a vulnerable population, at risk for hearing, visual and mobility deficits. This at risk population can experience changes in cognitive or physical status making the activities of daily living difficult to perform (Meiner, 2011). As people like Mollie age, gradually becoming less able to function independently, their grown children, potential caregivers, may be preoccupied with the demands of their own lives and not prepared to care for an older
Also, the whole family needs to come to term with the health condition, make change in priorities and schedule, and keep the family. For example, it can be much more stressful for a young or a newly married couple because they may have more experience to overcome life's difficulties. As a result, as with individual maturation, family development can be delayed or even revert to a previous level of functioning (Hockenberry, p 762.) Therefore, health care providers need to apply family development theory while planning care for a child and family with chronic health condition. Indeed, family centered care should be a part of that intervention. Parents and family members have huge and comprehensive caregiving responsibilities for their chronically ill child at home or at hospital. Moreover, the main goal taking care of chronic ill child is to “minimize the progression of the disease and maximize the child’s physical, cognitive, psychological potential” (Hockenberry, p 763). Therefore, it is essential to family being part of the child care to give highest quality of care. On the other hand, we are as a part of the health care provider need to give attention to all
Robertson, S. M., Zarit, S. H., Duncan, L. G., Rovine, M. J., & Femia, E. E. (2007). Family Caregivers Patterns of Positive and Negative Affect. Family Relations , 12-23.
Effectively established a better understanding on how the 21st century impacts the role of women when it comes to caretaking. The article “Families and Elder Care in the Twenty-First Century” by Ann bookman and Delia Kimbrel, explains why work-life balance is so important to the Gen Xers, because there is a large population of the baby boomers that will require caretaking. It is important for originations to understand their employees needs to care for their family member, and provide them with flexibility to do so. Organizations who are reluctant to adapt, will decrease their new hires due to this becoming a motivational need most people will look for, like they look for security today.
Caregivers are pulled in multiple directions and often struggle to find balance between jobs, family, and personal time. If you are a caregiver, it is important to understand that you are not alone. Here are some tips to help you stay healthy:
Investing Martin’s father’s time and energy throughout the day to Martin’s care then to working full time. Martin’s father showed just how self-sacrificing he was for Martin and his family by the care he provided for Martin and then on top of that, working full time. In order for Martin’s father to be compassionate and committed to Martin’s care some of the beliefs that he holds is that no matter how sick a family member is, it is the families responsibilities to take care of them. Some other beliefs that Martin’s farther may hold is that every person should be treated as a human no matter their condition and their care conducted with dignity by interpreting best practice (Doane & Varcoe, 2015). What Martin’s father shows about a caregiver’s role in illness experience is that caregivers have an important role in the life of the ill patient since the ill patient is in such a vulnerable state. A caregiver must be able to delegate and cope with the stress of caregiving or else the caregiver will burnout. A caregiver must be able to delegate between their own personal care and caring for a patient (Watson,
In order to fully understand the problem on compassion fatigue and caregiver burnout, the definition of each as well as distinction between both should be discussed. Firstly, burnout is described differently from that of being depressed or overworked. It is a process wherein a person is in a state of mental fatigue, empty and drained of energy (Espeland, 2006). For Maslach (1982), individuals who interact with people on a daily basis are likely to experience burnout which is thought to be a syndrome of emotional fatigue, depersonalization and a reduced sense o...
...as an individual, still finding a sense of closeness with their caregiver. The perceptions that are formed as an infant are progressively construed to structure who we are, what we do, and why we do the things we do. These long-term effects appear to grow and are constructive as internal working models which shape our behavior, self perception, sense of self, and our expectations of other people.
The Theory of Caregiver Stress explains the primary caregiver’s social role, how they reduce stress, and how they cope with stress. Tsai (2003) was able to list several propositions in this theory that can be found and applied in the nursing practice. Many research articles have related or applied the Theory of Caregiver Stress in the recent years. This paper will explain those propositions in the Theory of Caregiver Stress as well as several examples that are applied to this theory.
Most long-term care facilities have a nice, caring environment. Most facilities have exceptionally trained personnel caring for that family member’s needs and concerns. Being within the nursing field one notices the morale and the health of these forgotten individuals declining rapidly with no family bonds to connect to anymore. The nursing staff and facilities members, attempt to replace the bonds lost between resident and family. The bonds formed with staff and resident, are not equal to seeing a grandchild at holidays, and being included at that special family reunion. It is understandable some family units don t carry the tight connections other ily units share. Family support systems most require on admittance to semiprivate, busy nursing home settings are lost. Surroundings of this...
-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.
Tens of millions of American seniors receive home care assistance from family members. Without help and support, the seniors could not safely remain in their own home. While family caregivers tend to do an outstanding job in the short-term, caregiver burnout is extremely common as the stress of long-term caregiving takes over.
... are as accurate as possible. In all, the development of the Theory of Caregiver Stress has been a great benefit to the medical field and caregivers as a whole.
I currently work on a Transitional Care unit and I witness many patients going home with family. As a nurse, I am obligated to look for warning signs of caregiver role strain and intervene appropriately. Signs of caregiver burnout include substance abuse, changes in appetite, depression, thoughts of death, neglect or abuse of the person receiving care, insomnia, and difficulty concentrating. More than 69,000,000 people spend an average of 20 hours per week engaged in family caregiving (Kathleen, B. M.,2011, May). Given the high level of tasks that caregivers may be responsible for, there is a critical need to develop and implement interventions to support the caregiver role. Most importantly, healthcare professionals, including nurses, need
The fact is that caregivers provide an amazing service to their loved ones as well as the healthcare organization when they are asked to fulfill the role of primary caregiver. Caregivers ought to be protected from physical and emotional distress through interventions offering support and education. Interventions aimed at supporting the caregiver as the direct recipient of care improve caregiver confidence and competence resulting in better patient care thereby reducing caregiver stress level and improving their sense of control (Given, Given, & Sherwood, 2012; Belgacem, et al., 2013; & Boele, et al., 2013).