From Momentum to Movement: Developing a Unified Strategy to Support Family Caregivers Across the Nation

The National Alliance for Caregiving (NAC) presents From Momentum to Movement: Developing a Unified Strategy to Support Family Caregivers Across the Nation.This report is aligned with NAC's mission of building partnerships in advocacy that improve the lives of family caregivers. In 2019, NAC convened its Annual Conference of Caregiver Advocates to explore the need for a unified strategy to address family caregiving as a public health issue. By amplifying feedback from that conference and engaging the collective expertise of the National Caregiver Advocacy Collaborative, as well as several advocates involved with state caregiving plans at various stages of development, NAC continues its mission of building out partnerships to advance the goal of a unified caregiving strategy to support family caregivers across the nation.From Momentum to Movement represents the first iteration of a living document and compilation of resources to help guide advocates in developing statewide caregiving strategies that address community-level needs. This report presents a strategic process to foster the development of actionable goals in new state plans. It also includes core policy recommendations in person-centered domains intended to coordinate alignment across key global, national, and state-level priorities and to strengthen movement toward a robust, unified caregiving strategy for caregivers across the lifespan.Click "Download" to access this resourc

Family Caregiving to the Older Population: Background, Federal Programs, and Issues for Congress

[Excerpt] Family caregiving to older individuals in need of long-term care encompasses a wide range of activities, services, and supports. Caregiving can include assistance with personal care needs, such as bathing, dressing, and eating, as well as other activities necessary for independent living, such as shopping, medication management, and meal preparation. In addition, family caregivers may arrange, supervise, or pay for formal or paid care to be provided to the care recipient. Family caregivers fulfill the majority of the need for long-term care by older persons with chronic disabilities in the United States. As a result of increases in life expectancy, as well as the aging of the baby-boom generation, demand for family caregiving to the older population is likely to increase. However, demographic trends such as reduced fertility, increased divorce rates, and greater labor force participation among women may limit the number of available caregivers to older individuals, as well as the capacity for caregivers to provide needed care. Although many family caregivers find caregiving for an older family member a rewarding experience, other life circumstances, in addition to caregiving, may increase caregiver stress. For example, family members may not live in close proximity to the care recipient, they may face the competing demands of child care and elder care, and they may have to manage work with caregiving responsibilities. As a result, family caregiving can lead to emotional and physical strain and financial hardship. These effects are more likely to be felt among those caring for persons with high levels of disability or cognitive impairment. Caregiver stress has been linked to nursing home admission for the care recipient, thus interventions that can reduce stress may also reduce nursing home placement. Recognizing family caregivers as an important part of the nation\u27s long-term care delivery system, the federal government has established programs and initiatives that provide direct supports to caregivers, such as respite care, education and training, tax relief, and cash assistance. These benefits are targeted at family caregivers to reduce stress and financial hardship, and to improve caregiving skills, among other things. Other federal programs and initiatives provide home- and community-based long-term care services and supports to the care recipient. These programs can indirectly benefit caregivers in relieving caregiver burden by either supplementing the informal care they are providing or substituting with paid support. Three sets of policies that would provide direct assistance to family caregivers to older adults are briefly discussed in the last section of this report. These policy issues, which have been the subject of discussion among federal policymakers and other interested stakeholders, include the following: caregiver services and supports, flexible workplace accommodations and income security, and additional tax credits. This report will be updated as warranted

Innovative Programs Serving Diverse Populations: The Community College Caregiver Training Initiative

Turnover among homecare workers is alarmingly high, due to difficult working conditions, low pay, few benefits and little opportunity for career advancement. The significance of our Community College Caregiver Training Initiative is reinforced by the recommendation by the Institute of Medicine in its 2008 report, Retooling for an Aging America, for improved education and training and support for professional caregivers

Factors That Influence Self-Reported Health Changes With Caregiving

Objective: This study examined factors associated with the self-reported change in health status as a result of caregiving. Method: Multinomial logistic regression were performed to examine the sociodemographic characteristics, care recipients’ characteristics, and caregiving experiences that affect caregivers’ perceptions of health affected by caregiving using data from 1,087 caregiver respondents in the Caregiving in the U.S. 2015 data set. Data were collected through an online or telephone survey of randomly selected adults in 50 states. Results: Worsened self-reported health with caregiving occurred for caregivers aged 50 to 64, racial/ethnic minorities, those who lived within 20 min of the care recipient’s home, the presence of cognitive deficits, prolonged caregiving, and limited availability of accessible and affordable care services. Importantly, the feeling of choice in taking on care responsibilities was associated with an over fourfold increase in the odds ratio (OR) of better health in response to caregiving (OR = 4.21; confidence interval [CI] = [1.95, 9.08]; p \u3c .001). Discussion: Results suggest that improving accessibility of social service resources to assist caregivers in being better supported and having more choice in caregiving responsibilities may foster a positive change in health status with caregiving

Caring for the Caregiver: Incentivizing Medical Providers to Include Caregivers as Part of the Treatment Team

More than 1 in 5 people in the United States care for a family member, friend, or neighbor with a health care need or functional disability. More family caregivers find themselves caring for multiple people (24 percent) and working while caregiving (61 percent). Family caregivers face increasing complexity meeting the medical and support needs of their care recipients; 7 in 10 do so with no paid help. Without adequate and affordable services and supports, the escalating demands on family caregivers contribute to their physical, emotional, financial strain, and decline in self-reported health.In this white paper, published by The National Alliance for Caregiving, experts discuss incentives in the existing Medicare program that could motivate health systems and providers to offer more robust support to family caregivers.Click "Download" to access this resource

Developing National In-Home Caregiver Training Standards

This report incorporates discussion by experts on topics of paid in-home caregiver training standards, including curricula, accreditation, certification, career ladder, and caregiver support

Collaborating to Create Elder Friendly Communities in New Hampshire: A Scan of the Current Landscape

The fact that the population of the United States is aging is no surprise; the demographic projections are well documented. There have never been as many older adults living as there are today, and this number will only increase. Northern New England is aging more rapidly than the rest of the country, with Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire having the oldest populations in term of median age (U.S. Census, 2014). New Hampshire is expected to be the fastest aging state in New England through 2030, with nearly one-third of its population being over the age of 65 (Norton, 2011). This phenomenon is anticipated to place substantial pressure on publicly-funded health programs and long-term services and supports in the Granite State. But the story of the aging of the population is not only about increased numbers. As longevity increases, the average age of the older population will see a dramatic increase. The number of persons over the age of 85 in the United States is expected to increase five-fold by 2040. As the possibility for functional limitations and disability increases with age, the need for long-term, formal, and informal supports is expected to increase as the number of older adults, particularly those over the age of 85 increases. In addition, women continue to live longer than men; on average, life expectancy for women is three years longer than for men. These factors create a complex picture of aging, which includes a growing population of older adults, a majority of whom will be women; and a growing number of those over the age of 85, who are more likely to require some type of assistance as they age. It is a mistake to look at our aging population in a singular way. Although we tend to make generalizations about older adults, as a group, they are more physiologically and socially diverse than any other age group (Brummel-Smith & Mosqueda, 2003). As we age, we become more and more diverse, as there are no two people who have had the same life experiences, shaping who we are over our lifetimes. The baby boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) are likely to be the most diverse cohort of older adults we have seen to date, and it is likely that they will redefine our conception of age and aging. Older adults bring a diverse set of skills, talents, and knowledge that should be tapped as a significant natural resource to support a new and exciting vision of aging

Technology and Caregiving: Emerging Interventions and Directions for Research.

An array of technology-based interventions has increasingly become available to support family caregivers, primarily focusing on health and well-being, social isolation, financial, and psychological support. More recently the emergence of new technologies such as mobile and cloud, robotics, connected sensors, virtual/augmented/mixed reality, voice, and the evermore ubiquitous tools supported by advanced data analytics, coupled with the integration of multiple technologies through platform solutions, have opened a new era of technology-enabled interventions that can empower and support family caregivers. This paper proposes a conceptual framework for identifying and addressing the challenges that may need to be overcome to effectively apply technology-enabled solutions for family caregivers. The paper identifies a number of challenges that either moderate or mediate the full use of technologies for the benefit of caregivers. The challenges include issues related to equity, inclusion, and access; ethical concerns related to privacy and security; political and regulatory factors affecting interoperability and lack of standards; inclusive/human-centric design and issues; and inherent economic and distribution channel difficulties. The paper concludes with a summary of research questions and issues that form a framework for global research priorities