caregivers

Informal carers play a vital role in enabling people with ongoing support needs to be cared for at home, but this has a negative impact on carers' own health and wellbeing. Although community nurses are well placed to identify and support carers, falling numbers of district nurses and the increasing needs of an ageing population mean they have limited time and so focus on patients. This article proposes the creation of a 'carer support nurse' role entirely dedicated to supporting carers.

Background: Globally, most care for people with life-limiting illnesses is provided by informal caregivers. Identifying characteristics of caregivers that may have unmet needs and negative outcomes can help provide better support to facilitate adjustment. Aim: The authors compared characteristics, expressed unmet needs and outcomes for spousal caregivers, with other caregivers at the end of life, by gender and age.

Spousal caregivers of persons with dementia often have difficulty engaging persons with dementia in leisure activities. This qualitative descriptive study identifies how caregivers perceive their spouses’ participation in leisure activities since dementia onset and the professional guidance caregivers require to increase persons with dementia participation in shared leisure activities. Nine spousal caregivers from a hospital-based caregiver intervention attended one of three focus groups.

Croft appreciates that while caring is a rewarding experience, the responsibility of supporting others can take its toll: indeed, people who provide substantial care are at 50% greater risk of experiencing mental health problems themselves. The burden of caring can be objective and subjective. For carers to fulfil their roles and feel supported doing so, it is essential for nurses to be empathetic and compassionate, and provide information, as well as offering a carer's assessment.

As the population ages, there is a growing need for families and friends to support frail older adults in their home. Although many family caregivers report feeling satisfied with their caring role, a growing number of caregivers also feel physically, emotionally, and financially drained by the experience. The purpose of this literature review is to explore the experience of compassion fatigue (CF) among family caregivers, and to suggest strategies to combat this possible consequence of caregiving.

Background: Despite evidence from the broader caregiving literature about the interdependent nature of the caregiving dyad, few studies in heart failure (HF) have examined associations between caregiver and patient characteristics. Objective: The aim of this study is to quantitatively synthesize the relationships between caregiver well-being and patient outcomes.

Background: Preventing hospitalization and improving event-free survival are primary goals of heart failure (HF) treatment according to current European Society of Cardiology guidelines; however, substantial uncertainty remains in our ability to predict risk and improve outcomes. Although caregivers often assist patients to manage their HF, little is known about their influence on clinical outcomes. Aims: To quantify the influence of patient and caregiver characteristics on patient clinical event risk in HF.

For community nurses, the first step in ensuring a carer's wellbeing is to be mindful of not adding to the person's burden themselves. To create and maintain safe and effective care for patients relies on collaboration between nurses and the families and carers, which may involve nurses delegating caring duties to a carer. But, in line with the professional code, this should only happen if the carer is competent, supervised, supported, and understands the task, its complexity and expected outcomes (Nursing and Midwifery Council, 2015).

[...]by 2040 the percentage of people aged 65 and older will have nearly doubled to nearly 22%, up from 13% in 2010. According to the Families and Work Institute’s 2016 National Study of Employers, 42% of employers offer elder care resource and referral services and 78% provide some amount of either paid or unpaid time off for employees who need to care for aging relatives. [...]25% of all family caregivers are younger millennials and 50% are under the age of 50.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the grief/bereavement process of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) caregivers following death of a family member in long-term care (LTC) and develop a theoretical model of this phenomenon based upon in-depth individual interviews. There is limited evidence examining ADRD caregiver grief and bereavement following family member death in LTC settings. Grounded Theory methodology has not been utilized to explore this phenomenon.