Providing care for a Hospice patient is one of the most stressful types of care giving a family member can provide. In addition to the physical and emotional stressors of providing care many hours a week to a loved one, Hospice caregivers are aware of the limited time their loved one has left. For a person to qualify for the Hospice program, they have to have received a prognosis from their provider that they have less than six months to live (180 days).
Interventions for Hospice Caregivers have been completed over the years to help reduce the burden of their role. An intervention published in the Journal of Palliative Medicine focused on this type of care giving. “A Problem Solving Intervention for Hospice Caregivers: A Pilot Study” took new hospice caregivers and met with them three times within the first three weeks of the caregiver providing care (Demiris, Oliver, Washington, Fruehling, Haggarty-Robbins, Doorenbos, Wechkin, Berry , 2010). The Hospice caregiver intervention identified new caregivers to Hospice, by newly admitted patients. The intervention lasted the first few weeks of Hospice care and allowed Caregivers to learn about their new role. It also provided resouces to help cope with stress.
Interventions for Hospice Caregivers have been completed over the years to help reduce the burden of their role. An intervention published in the Journal of Palliative Medicine focused on this type of care giving. “A Problem Solving Intervention for Hospice Caregivers: A Pilot Study” took new hospice caregivers and met with them three times within the first three weeks of the caregiver providing care (Demiris, Oliver, Washington, Fruehling, Haggarty-Robbins, Doorenbos, Wechkin, Berry , 2010). The Hospice caregiver intervention identified new caregivers to Hospice, by newly admitted patients. The intervention lasted the first few weeks of Hospice care and allowed Caregivers to learn about their new role. It also provided resouces to help cope with stress.
Outcomes of the hospice caregiver intervention were very positive. Even with all of the stressors of being a hospice caregiver and the time constraints, caregivers felt that they had a better quality of life and a lower anxiety level after the intervention (Demiris, et al, 2010). One positive trait of the intervention was that there was a structure to the meetings and specific tools were provided instead of ambiguous discussion and questions (Demiris, et al, 2010). One participant explained, “a lot of time the social workers will come out and they will say, what can I do for you? You’re in this position, well, I don’t know what you have to offer, I don’t know what your agency encompasses” (Demiris, et al, 2010). This is very common in the care giving world, people offer to help; but if they don't offer a tangible service that the caregiver can easily understand and use, the good deed goes unused.
Click here to read the full journal article discussed above.
Below are some resources for Hospice Caregivers - Please take a look:
- Watch a short video on suggestions around the holidays to minimize caregiver burden.
- Respite Care Information: http://www.medicare.com/assisted-living/respite-care.html
- Hospice Foundation's Blog: http://blog.hospicefoundation.org
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