Caregiver Stress and Burden Who will Care for Me

Description

A primary caregiver is a person who takes primary responsibility for someone who cannot care for themselves. Therefore, a primary caregiver is considered a family member, a trained professional, or an individual. Depending on culture there may be various members of the family engaged in care. A caregiver performs activities of daily living (ADLs), such as bathing, grooming, and other personal care activities. Caregivers spend approximately 20 hours a week taking care of a loved one. Long-term care caregivers consist of formal and informal. The informal caregivers include family members and friends who may render an array of support and assistive services. Formal caregivers range from physicians to home health aides or Certified Nursing Assistant. Informal caregivers generally provide long-term care services in their own homes or the homes of the affected family member or friend. Caregiver stress syndrome or caregiver stress is a condition of exhaustion, anger, rage, or guilt that results from unrelieved caring for a chronically ill dependent. This book is useful for the informal or nonprofessional caregiver in providing care for a loved one. Stress management strategies for the formal caregivers are discussed.