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Caring for the Caregivers

2001, Handbook of Psychological Services for Children and Adolescents

Caring for Caregivers The Need: With the growth of the aged population, more adults with chronic illnesses and conditions require assistance in going about their daily living. More than 80 percent of this assistance is provided by informal caregivers, primarily family members. Surveys by the North Carolina Division of Aging and Adult Services indicate that roughly a quarter of North Carolinians reported they had cared for a family member or friend age 60 or older during the past month. Caregiving often takes a physical, emotional and financial toll on caregivers. Studies have shown that caregivers can be helped by a variety of interventions, including information and case assistance, education for self-care, skills training and access to other community services such as respite care, support groups and flexible workplace options. Serving the Need: Since 2000, North Carolina Cooperative Extension has provided a six-session, 15-hour intensive course on self-care for the caregiver. From 2000-2004, Dr. Luci Bearon, adult development and aging specialist, and a Duke University colleague were the only certified Master Trainers in North Carolina and trained approximately 60 Class Leaders, including 16 N.C. Cooperative Extension county agents as well as service providers in the aging network and AARP volunteers. In 2004, the North Carolina license was purchased by NC AARP, opening up opportunities for the training of new Master Trainers and Class Leaders. Bearon requested and obtained $10,000 in internal Family and Consumer Sciences funding to support training two county Family and Consumer Sciences agents to become Master Trainers and to support training 22 additional agents as Class Leaders. With the collaboration of Cooperative Extension, AARP, the N.C. Division of Aging and Adult Services and 17 area agencies on aging, all regions of the state now have pairs of Class Leaders able to offer the course to caregivers, including Class Leaders in corporate and non-profit settings. Impact beyond North Carolina: The public value and economic impact of support programs for caregivers can be inferred from national statistics that indicate the services provided by family members to a disabled or frail older adult save significant costs for the health care system, partly by helping family caregivers stay physically and mentally healthy so that they can continue to both work outside the home and provide home-based care, thus reducing or delaying the need for paid services or institutional long-term care. One research study found that older spousal caregivers who experience mental or emotional strain associated with caregiving have a 63 percent higher mortality rate than noncaregivers. The value of the services family caregivers provide is estimated to be $306 billion a year, almost twice as much as is actually spent on homecare and nursing home services combined ($158 billion). And a one-month delay in nursing home placement for persons with Alzheimer’s Disease is estimated to save Medicare and Medicaid $1 billion. For more information, contact: Dr. Luci Bearon, Department of 4-H Youth Development and Family and Consumer Sciences, 919-515-9146 or luci_bearon@ncsu.edu