Working Caregivers:

Now more than ever, involving family caregivers is a necessary part of working with older people and adults with disabilities in all practice settings. As our population ages, more people with chronic and disabling conditions are choosing to live at home or in the community, launching their family members and close friends into action as caregivers.

We now know that family caregiving impacts the physical and mental health, finances, career and other family and social relationships of the caregiver. However, caregivers are rarely provided an assessment of their own situations to assist them in providing quality care.

Restrictions on resources may influence a publicly funded agency’s response to caregiver needs. Much depends on how caregivers are viewed in general. Are family members seen merely as a resource, or as people with needs and rights of their own?

Achieving a high quality of care for people with chronic or disabling conditions depends on accepting a family-centered perspective. The success of most care plans—from hospital discharge to everyday care in the home, to dealing with the often unexpected costs of uninsured care—often rests on the shoulders of the family caregiver.

If the family caregiver becomes sick or can no longer cope with caregiving tasks, the care recipient suffers. If the strain on a caregiver becomes too great, care in the home may be seriously compromised and nursing home placement may result.

Successful care, whether from hospitals, home or community-based settings, depends upon knowing the needs of both the care recipient and the family caregiver.

Family Responsibilities

Family caregivers are increasingly expected to fill big gaps in health and long-term care:

• Changes in health care delivery, including shorter hospital stays and limited discharge planning, require family members to provide more difficult, intense care for longer periods of time.
  
  
• Caregivers of people with chronic illnesses or disabilities often have the primary responsibility for carrying out care plans, ensuring that the care recipient’s plan is a success.
  
  
• The shortage of direct-care workers in both community and facility settings leaves many family caregivers without an alternative.