Paper
Wednesday, 19 July 2006
This presentation is part of : Strategies to Improve Mental Health and Coping
Helping Families Care: Targeting Needs Early to Prevent Stress
Christine A. Cannon, PhD, RN, Nursing, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
Learning Objective #1: Identify the stressors, needs, and preferences of middle-aged adults anticipating advancing illness of their spouse, partner or parents.
Learning Objective #2: Apply research findings and related program content and approaches to prevent caregiver stress, and to maximize the health of caregiver and care receiver dyads.
By identifying stressors, needs and preferences of experienced caregiving families, nurses can prepare “novice” families anticipating the many challenges of advancing illness early. For the purposes of preventing caregiver stress, increasing the effectiveness of caring for an ill partner or aging parent, and maximizing the health of both ill and well family members, current caregiver research, community programs and educational materials were reviewed and local community research was conducted. Data were collected using (1) semi-structured interviews of 27 local providers of caregiving services, (2) questionnaires completed by 42 family caregivers, and (3) responses emailed from 30 well spouses. Content data analysis revealed the following categories (each described by multiple subcategories): (1) “nature of caregiver stress,” (2) “consequences of caregiving,” (3) “benefits of caregiving,” (4) “perceived factors reducing or increasing stress,” and (5)”perceived needs and preferences”. Based on these findings, the “Preparing for Caring” program was developed with an introductory module, “Caring for Your Partner” (or … Your Parent”) and six modules addressing: (1) Planning for Your Caring Partnership, (2) Responding to a Health Crisis, (3) Promoting Caregiver Health, (4) Assessing the Impact of Illness on the Care Receiver and Caregiver, (5) Creating a Safe and Caring Environment, and (6) Considering the Best Care Options … Home Care to Nursing Home. Each module addresses the questions: (a) Where are we going? (b) What will we need to get there? (c) How will we do it together as a family? and (d) What can we do to preserve our health? The free program (http://www.caringpartnersde.org) is unique in its approach to providing key research-based information and internet links to selected and described resources and local service providers. The program and the “head, heart, and hands” logo acknowledge the thoughts, feelings and work of caring, as described. Program evaluation is in process.

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See more of The 17th International Nursing Research Congress Focusing on Evidence-Based Practice (19-22 July 2006)