Helping The Helpers

Family caregivers are almost two times more likely to have emotional and physical problems than other U.S. adults, and three times more likely to have productivity problems at work, according to a 2015 study. The more intense the care, the greater the effects, the researchers found.

Dr. Eric Coleman, a gerontologist and recipient of a MacArthur Foundation fellowship in 2012, created the Care Transitions Intervention model. The national program, based at the University of Colorado in Denver, trains coaches to help caregivers ease the transition of a patient to home care. The coaches are usually social workers, nurses or others hired by hospitals and other facilities to work directly with caregivers.

Coaches talk to the caregiver before patients are discharged from a hospital. Then they have a one-hour coaching session at the patient's home, and three follow-up phone calls. Studies have shown that having transition coaches can drop readmission to hospitals by 20 to 50 percent, says Coleman.

Even if a caregiver is with the patient when doctors give instructions in the hospital or clinic, the medical jargon can go right over their heads, Coleman says. "We tell people that for the next 24 to 48 hours, here are key things you need to do. Then we follow up at home," he says.

Caregivers do more than make meals; they also perform medical tasks, like giving medicine, taking blood pressure, changing bandages and more. Yet they receive virtually no training, Coleman says.

"I'm a physician, and when I take care of my mom, I have an endless loop in my head," of the to-do list, he says.

A 2015 study by AARP found that 46 percent of family caregivers perform medical/nursing tasks, 78 percent of family caregivers manage medications, and 53 percent of family caregivers serve as care coordinators. The majority told researchers they'd received no training in those tasks.

Caregivers are "the backbone of our health system," says Alan Stevens, a gerontologist and psychologist who trains caregivers, in partnership with Baylor Scott White, the largest nonprofit hospital company in Texas, and a group of agencies that deal with elderly issues across the state.

"If caregivers go away, we have a problem," Stevens says. "It's important to better understand their needs — and to help them."

Read the article in its entirety on NPR news here:
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/04/27/606054065/family-caregivers-finally-get-a-break-and-some-coaching