What Caregivers Need From Clinical Nurse Specialists

In the US today, there are more than 32 million unpaid family caregivers providing complex care to a family member in the home. In 2012, American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) released the results of Home Alone: Family Caregivers Providing Complex Chronic Care (http://www.aarp.org/content/dam/aarp/research/public_policy_institute/health/home-alone-family-caregivers-providing-complex-chronic-care-rev-AARP-ppi-health.pdf). The study, conducted by the AARP Public Policy Institute and the United Hospital Fund, was a nationally representative population-based online survey of 1677 family caregivers to determine the medical/nursing tasks they performed. Study findings challenged the notion of family caregiving as limited to personal care, such as bathing and dressing, and assistance with household chores, shopping, and paying bills. Here, Fulton talks about caregiver's lack of knowledge in home and post-op care.