Home Care Investigates: Family Caregiver Fears
CareWorks Health Services helps family caregivers with guidance and education.
“Of course Dad can move in with me!”
More family caregivers are making this commendable choice each and every day, signifying the beginning of a change in lifestyle they can only fully have an understanding of once in the middle of it. Even though the positive aspects of providing care for an older parent are immeasurable, a family caregiver will face multiple challenges as well.
It might seem natural to manage everyday activities for a loved one; however, it is not as instinctive as it appears initially. For instance, assisting a senior in the shower or bath the wrong way can lead to a fall. Inadequate incontinence care may cause skin damage and infection. Noncompliance with a prescribed nutritional plan may result in a variety of health problems.
It is not surprising that in a newly released report shared by AARP, “Home Alone Revisited,” numerous family caregivers mentioned pressure regarding the possibility of making an error in the care they provide. The report spotlights responses from a survey sent to over 2,000 family caregivers, who revealed that while they believed their caregiving was enabling their loved ones to stay in the home over a move to an assisted living or nursing home environment, they conveyed concern over their competence to do the tasks needed.
Respondents in the study revealed that by far the most emotionally frustrating element of caregiving is incontinence care. And, approximately ¾ of family caregivers surveyed are consistently undertaking medical duties related to pain management – tasks that they wished they had been given better training and assistance on from the senior’s health care team.
Heather Young, dean emerita at the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at the University of California, Davis (and co-author of the report) points out that, “Too often (family caregivers) are unprepared and do not get the support they need to assume these important roles.”
Asking for guidance and training in unfamiliar tasks as a family caregiver is vital. Those who partner with an experienced provider in home care in Seal Beach, such as CareWorks Health Services, can lessen the trepidation and uncertainty in managing care in the home successfully. Our in home caregivers are fully trained in the countless complexities of aging care, and can provide members of the family with valuable guidance and education. We also offer dependable, reliable respite care services that make it possible for family caregivers to step back from their care duties while knowing their senior loved one will be safe and well cared for.
If you’re interested in finding a caregiver in home care Seal Beach families can count on, contact us at (949) 859-4700 for a free in-home consultation. View our full service area here.