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CAREGIVER BURNOUT AND FATIGUEPresented by:

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WHO ARE CAREGIVERS?

+ Individuals who provide care to chronically ill or disabled family members or friends

+ Caregiver goals:- Serve as advocates for the patient

- Understand the patient’s needs to socialize

- Become familiar with insurance and financial matters

Family caregivers provide, for“free”, an estimated

$257 billionper year in services.1

1. www.cdss.ca.gov/

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CAREGIVER ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Grocery shopping and house work

Dressing, bathing, administering medications

Aiding with transferring the recipient in and out of bed

Assisting with physical therapy, injections, feeding tubes, etc.

Arranging the medical appointments and transportation to the doctor or clinic

Ordering and picking up medications at the drugstore

Discussing the care plan and needs with the doctors and care managers

Filling the designated “on-call” position for the family member

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WHAT IS CAREGIVER BURNOUT OR FATIGUE?

+ A state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion that may be accompanied by a change in attitude - from positive and caring to negative and unconcerned.- Can occur when caregivers do not get the help they need, or if they try to

do more than they are able to, physically or financially

- Emotionally and physically draining

- Fatigue, stress, anxiety, and depression

- Guilt

Studies show that an estimated 46% to 59% of caregivers are clinically depressed.1

1. www.cdss.ca.gov/

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WHAT ARE SYMPTOMS OF CAREGIVER BURNOUT?

Withdrawal from friends and family

Loss of interest in activities previously

enjoyed

Feeling blue, irritable, hopeless, and helpless

Changes in appetite, weight, or

both

Changes in sleep patterns

Getting sick more often

Feelings of wanting to hurt yourself or the

person for whom you are caring

Emotional and physical exhaustion

Excessive use of alcohol and/or sleep

medicationsIrritability

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WHAT ARE CAUSES OF CAREGIVER BURNOUT?

Role confusion

Unrealistic expectations

Lack of control

Unreasonable demands

Other factors

Caregivers often are so busy caring for others that they tend to neglect their own emotional, physical, and spiritual health.

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COMMUNICATING WITH DOCTORS

+ Educate yourself about your loved one’s disease.+ Write questions down before appointments so you will not

forget them.+ Make a habit of taking notes during appointments so you can

more easily remember what was discussed.+ If you have lots of things to talk about, make a consultation

appointment, so the doctor can allow enough time to meet with you.

+ Learn the routine at your doctor’s office and/or the hospital so you can make the system work for you, not against you.

+ Recognize that not all questions have answers – especially those beginning with “why.”

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MANAGING HOSPITALIZATIONS

Help provide information

Identify the hospital social worker or case manager

Identify the “attending physician”

Get to know the nurses who are caring for your loved one

Discharge planning

Legal issues – Advance Medical Directives, Living Will

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CAREGIVING AND SIBLING RELATIONSHIPS

+ Providing care for an aging or ill parent can bring out the best and the worst in sibling relationships.

+ Ideally, the experience of caregiving is a time for siblings to come together and provide mutual support to one another.

+ As a stressful transition, however, the pressure can also lead to strained connections and painful conflict.

- Legacy of family dynamics

- Denial over a parent’s condition

+ Ultimately, strained family relationships can impede a family’s capacity to provide the greatest quality of care to a parent.

+ Resolving these conflicts:- Never ignore the situation

- Try to forgive

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WHERE CAN A CAREGIVER TURN FOR HELP?

Home health or hospice

services

Adult day care

Nursing home or assisted

living facilities

Private care aides

Caregiver support services

Area Agency on Aging

National organizations

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HOW TO MANAGE CAREGIVER STRESS

Accept help

Focus on what you are able to provide

Set realistic goals

Get connected

Join a support group

Seek social support

Set personal health goals

Get a good night’s sleep

See your doctor

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MOVING FORWARD

Reduce and manage personal stress

Set goals and seek solutions

Communicate constructively

Ask for and accept help

Build a partnership with the physician

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REDUCING PERSONAL STRESS

Whether your caregiving is

voluntary

Your relationship

with the care recipient

Your coping abilities

Your caregiving situation

Whether support is available

Influencing factors on your level of stress:

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STEPS TO MANAGING STRESS

Identify source of stress

Identify what you can and cannot

change

Take action

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TAKING CARE OF YOU

First, care for yourself

Effect of caregiving on

health and wellbeing

Take responsibility for your own

care

Identify personal barriers

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BEST PRACTICES FOR SELF CARE

+ Learn and use stress-reduction techniques+ Attend to your own healthcare needs+ Get proper rest and nutrition+ Exercise regularly+ Take time off without feeling guilty+ Participate in pleasant, nurturing activities+ Seek and accept the support of others+ Seek supportive counseling when you need it, or talk to a trusted

counselor or friend+ Identify and acknowledge your feelings+ Change the negative ways you view situations+ Set goals+ It’s up to you!

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QUESTIONS

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REFERENCES

+ www.cdss.ca.gov/ - Caregiver: Taking Care of Yourself

+ https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/caregiving

+ https://www.hhs.gov/aging/long-term-care/index.html