Aging in Place Is a New Life Stage

Many families today face tough decisions about how to assist elderly relatives when they need some extra help with daily living. Unsurprisingly, many such adults want to remain in their own homes where they feel most comfortable.

Fortunately, more and more older adults can “age in place,” continuing to live in their homes “safely, independently, and comfortably”. However, when the older person is frail or disabled, professional care providers may become necessary. This transition to receiving care can be an “upheaval” in the older person’s life. In fact, researchers writing in the journal Aging and Society suggest that aging in place with professional care is actually a “new life stage” that merits careful consideration.

Beginning to receive care at home is a three-step process. First is separation from independent living, when the older person is assessed to determine if they are eligible for in-home care. The second step is a threshold, where modifications are made to the home and the older person begins to adapt to using a care provider. Personal relationships may suffer during this time due to health and mobility restrictions.

Ideally, the third step is re-connective home care, where the care worker forms a personal, caring relationship that includes the elderly in care decisions, and empowers the elder to manage their home and personal life as much as. Paying close attention to and valuing this crucial relationship between older adult and the caregiver are crucial to supporting continued independence at home.

Source: Carol Church, Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL

The Effect of Hospitalization on Older Couples

Very often the tale is told of an elderly couple for whom the loss of one spouse is more than the other can bear—and the other partner dies relatively soon thereafter. Referred to as the bereavement effect, this phenomenon has been well studied and documented. Likewise, research has explored the weighty effect that a spouse’s illness has on the caregiving partner, also called caregiver burden. Studies have shown that declines in physical and mental health of a spouse are often linked to a decrease in their partner’s health.

While we might romanticize that these couples suffer or die from a “broken heart,” new research reported in The New England Journal of Medicine has revealed a number of factors that may have serious consequences for spouses who are widowed or caregiving. For example, researchers have discovered the type of illness can have a significant impact.

Additionally, spousal illness or death may deprive a partner of emotional, economic, social, and other practical support. Lack of support and related stress can also adversely affect a surviving or caregiving spouse’s immune system, placing them at higher risk. Finally, the widowed spouse may begin to exhibit harmful behaviors such as drinking, poor eating habits, or high-risk activities after the illness or loss of a loved one.

Better understanding the potential problems elderly couples face when one spouse becomes ill or hospitalized can help families, healthcare providers, and policy makers better prepare to help them.

Donna Davis, senior producer, Family Album Radio, Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida.

Disaster Planning for Caregivers

News that a hurricane or tornado is on its way can cause anyone to worry. But if you're responsible for providing care for someone who's disabled, chances are you face additional concerns. You and the person you care for may not be able to "jump and run" when the tornado sirens are sounded or the hurricane warning is issued. As a caregiver, you should have specific strategies to be prepared for any natural disaster that may come your way.

For caregivers, as for everyone else, it's important to have basic supplies available. The supply list available at the American Red Cross website serves as the model for many basic supply lists.

With supplies in hand, it's important to create a plan. Although planning for a disaster can be frightening, having a plan in place, including an evacuation strategy, can help you and the person you care for feel more secure.

Next, create a disaster team. Caregivers often feel they're "on their own" during normal times, and this feeling may intensify during times of disaster when people are hurrying to take care of their own family and property. Consider family, friends, and neighbors who will be more than glad to help, but they'll need to know exactly what you need and when you need it. Be sure to include someone on your team who is able to lift and carry heavy objects such as wheelchairs or other medical equipment.

With a team and a plan in place, you should be able to find a little peace of mind if and when disaster strikes.

Source:  Carolyn Wilkin, Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida

Disaster Planning for the Elderly

News that a hurricane or tornado is on its way can cause anyone to worry. But if you are responsible for providing care for someone who is disabled, chances are you face additional concerns. You and the person you care for may not be able to "jump and run" when the tornado sirens are sounded or the hurricane warning is issued. Planning ahead will give you a little peace of mind.

For caregivers, as for everyone else, it is important to have basic supplies available. The supply list available at the American Red Cross web site (http://www.redcross.org/) serves as the model for many basic supply lists. Other sources provide information about special supplies for people with disabilities, for example Disaster Planning Tips for Senior Adults lists supplies that might be needed by people with disabilities and can be accessed online at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/FY620.

Although planning for a disaster can be frightening, having a plan in place can help you and the person you care for feel more secure.
Caregivers often feel they are “on their own” during normal times, and this feeling may intensify during times of disaster when people are hurrying to take care of their own family and property. People will be more than glad to help, but they will need to know exactly what you need and when you need it.

Make plans for help with family, friends, and neighbors. Include someone on your team who is able to lift and carry heavy objects such as wheelchairs or other medical equipment. Give at least one other person a key to your home. Each team member should have the contact information for the others. Name a substitute caregiver in case you are unavailable or unable to provide care.

Evacuation can be complicated for caregivers. Develop an evacuation strategy with your “disaster team.” Consider the following:
• Where are the nearest special needs emergency shelters? Remember you may not be able to reach the closest shelter, so know where the next closest one is located. Practice driving to both using different routes prior to storm warnings.
• What supplies must you take with you? In addition to the supplies you would normally need for an evacuation, think of those things you use as a caregiver every day. Make a check list of special caregiving items such as incontinence items, cleaning and sanitizing supplies, pill splitter or crusher, and thermometer. Secure a box or case to carry them in.
• How many people are needed to help make the move? These people should be part of your disaster team. Know how to reach them.
• Whom should you inform that you are evacuating? Let your neighbors and family members know, and if you live in any kind of “complex” let the administrators know that you have left.
• Keep your vehicle's gas tank over ¾ full at all times

For a copy of the UF Extension publication “Disaster Planning Tips for Caregivers of the Elderly and People with Disabilities by Carolyn Wilken: “http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/FY/FY75100.pdf

Long Distance Caregiving

Do you take care of an older family member at a distance? Long-distance caregivers are those who help older family members who live at least an hour away. Whether you care for a loved one who lives in another state or just an hour's drive away, you probably spend quite a bit of time in caregiving. Like other caregivers, you may find yourself thinking about the services the older person needs, making arrangements for their care or checking on the care they receive, or you may be planning for what you need to do when you see the family member next.

A recent survey by the National Alliance for Caregiving found that despite the distance, three-fourths of caregivers help with activities like transportation, shopping, managing finances or cooking. They spend, on the average, 22 hours a month on this. Most caregivers are able to visit their loved ones at least once a month, although budgeting for these trips may become difficult.

Long-distance caregiving can be complicated and demanding. Almost a quarter of the long-distance caregivers are the primary or only caregiver. Eighty percent of distance caregivers work full- or part-time.

This kind of workload affects both home and work life. A third of caregivers missed days of work to take care of these duties. About 44% changed their work schedules and 25% come in late or leave early. Both men and women caregivers were likely to re-arrange their work schedules, take an unpaid leave, or consider changing employers, although women are more likely to miss work or go from full time to part time work

How do long-distance caregivers manage? Usually with support from others, particularly a spouse, as well as other family members, friends, and neighbors. Support from employers is also very helpful. Not surprisingly, about half of long-distance caregivers are helping another family member who is providing daily care (National Alliance for Caregiving and Zogby International, 2004).