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| November 2014 | Archive |
Calling All Family CaregiversDo you know all of the family caregivers in your practice? November is National Family Caregivers Month, so why not challenge your practice to find each and every one? Nearly four of every 10 adults in the United States are involved in family caregiving for an elderly or disabled individual.1 One-half of them are caring for someone with Alzheimer’s disease or a similar degenerative neurologic condition. The typical family caregiver is a woman between the ages of 45 and 50 who spends about 20 hours per week caring for one or both of her parents. She likely works outside the home and may still be raising her own children. Increasingly men are stepping up to the family caregiving role as well. Elderly spouses caring for each other are especially vulnerable as caregivers. The physical and emotional impact on caregivers can be even more detrimental to older individuals who have other illnesses or age-related conditions. Family caregiving is risky business. These statistics may surprise you. Caregivers have higher rates of depression with almost 60% being diagnosed with depression at some point in their caregiving.2 Caregivers have higher rates of anxiety and insomnia, and receive prescription medications at two to three times the rate of noncaregivers.3 It has been determined that the immune system of chronically stressed long-term caregivers (think Parkinson’s, strokes, dementia) is depressed, leading to lowered immune response and increased rates of cancer. For elderly women caregivers, their mortality rates (compared to age-matched noncaregivers) were elevated following their husbands’ hospitalizations. It’s often thought that caregiving is a purely emotional stress, but as these statistics describe, there often are serious impacts on the caregivers’ emotional and physical health. Caregivers by nature are not likely to put their own needs ahead of their loved ones. I’ve had caregivers tell me that they’d postponed their own mammograms, switched appointments with their loved ones, or filled a loved one’s prescription before their own when money was tight. Often a physician’s influence may be necessary before caregivers pay attention to their own needs. A great way to raise awareness among family caregivers is to introduce them to the idea of “take your oxygen first.” These words to live by come from the instructions of flight attendants discussing emergency situations where it’s critical to place an oxygen mask on your own face before assisting others, but it’s a great metaphor for family caregivers. They must learn to protect their own health and well-being, or they will be unable to fill the role of caregiver. Take Your Oxygen First is also the title of a book in which TV personality Leeza Gibbons and her family candidly share their experience of caring for Leeza’s mother as she battled Alzheimer’s disease, an ordeal that challenged the well-being of an entire family. Take Your Oxygen First offers valuable advice on diet, nutrition, exercise, brain fitness, spiritual wellness, and more. Caregivers will learn to recognize and manage depression, anger, anxiety, and other pitfalls of caregiving as well as the ways in which caring for the mind, body, and spirit prepares caregivers for the challenges ahead. Take Your Oxygen First is available on Amazon or other online booksellers. Included is a one-page handout you can customize for your locale to remind caregivers that they need to “take your oxygen first.” — Rosemary Laird, MD, is a geriatrician, medical director of the Health First Aging Institute, and past president of the Florida Geriatrics Society. She is a coauthor of Take Your Oxygen First: Protecting Your Health and Happiness While Caring for a Loved One With Memory Loss.
References 2. Schreiner AS, Morimoto T, Arai Y, Zarit S. Assessing family caregiver’s mental health using a statistically derived cut-off score for the Zarit Burden Interview. Aging Ment Health. 2006;10(2):107-111. 3. New study finds anxiety medication use higher among caregivers. Express Scripts website. http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=69641&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1847246. Updated August 13, 2013.
Information for the Handout National Family Caregivers Month We want you to know you are not alone! We understand how challenging it can be to care for your loved one and pay attention to your own health and wellness needs too. But you really must “Take Your Oxygen First”! Dr. ___________________ Local Resources for Caregiver Support: Good Reads: • Take Your Oxygen First: Protecting Your Health and Happiness While Caring for a Loved One With Memory Loss by Leeza Gibbons; James Huysman, PsyD, LCSW; and Rosemary DeAngelis Laird, MD Good websites: • First step if you need additional help caring for your loved one: http://eldercare.gov • Information and 24-hour helpline (1-800-272-3900) for family caregivers of patients with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias: www.alz.org |
