The purpose of this project is to educate adult children caring for their parents, so they can identify as caregivers so they can better cope with, identify with, and/or navigate the role of care giving, and be aware of the resources available to them

Boisen-MacDonald, Kate

English

Institutional Repository for Minnesota State University, Mankato

Minnesota State University, MankatoCornerstone: A Collection ofScholarly and Creative Works forMinnesota State University,MankatoAll Theses, Dissertations, and Other CapstoneProjects Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects2009In Step with Our Parents: 3-Part Educational SeriesKate Boisen-MacDonaldMinnesota State University - MankatoFollow this and additional works at: http://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/etdsPart of the Geriatrics Commons, Gerontology Commons, and the Social Work CommonsThis Other Capstone Project is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects at Cornerstone: ACollection of Scholarly and Creative Works for Minnesota State University, Mankato. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Theses, Dissertations,and Other Capstone Projects by an authorized administrator of Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and Creative Works for Minnesota StateUniversity, Mankato.Recommended CitationBoisen-MacDonald, Kate, "In Step with Our Parents: 3-Part Educational Series" (2009). All Theses, Dissertations, and Other CapstoneProjects. Paper 453.3-part educational seriesMARKETINGIMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL WORK PRACTICEIn Step With Our ParentsCaregiver Education SeriesCAREGIVER DATAISSUES ENCOUNTEREDKate MacDonaldMSW studentSenior Community ServicesBACKGROUND Senior Community Services is a non-profit organization that provides outreach services to elderly individuals in Hennepin County, including the more rural western part of Hennepin County.  It also provides caregiver coaching for individuals and families who are caring for family and friends who are elderly. The social workers, along with the director of senior outreach have identified a need to educate caregivers in the county they serve, but do not identify themselves with the term caregiver.   It has been identified by the professional staff at this agency, through interviews, assessments, and counseling of clients, that many individuals are caregivingfor loved ones and they are missing out on services and resources because they do not identify with the term “caregiver” and many services and resources are labeled for caregivers.  The role of education is to help them identify as a caregiver and access the many resources that are available to assist them and the care recipients. The social workers and director of the senior centers for Senior Community Services have identified a need to reach out to and provide education for adult children who are now caring for their parent(s), but who don’t self-identify as caregivers.PURPOSEThe purpose of this project is to educate adult children caring for their parents, so they can identify as caregivers so they can better cope with, identify with, and/or navigate the role of care giving, and be aware of the resources available to them.PROJECT DESCRIPTIONIn Step with Our Parents is a three-part training, with power point and handouts, for adult children providing care to their parents. It consisted of three 1 1/2 hour segments, including the presentation, discussion and questions. The topics that are included are: issues and statistics around caring for aging parents (including self-identifying as a caregiver), legal and financial considerations (utilizing available experts), resources for elders, and family dynamics and communication. 1Learning objectives: Purpose of this education seriesThrough this education series you will be able to: Identify the roles and issues of elder caregiving Identify family dynamics in caregiving Use tools for stress management•By 2030, one of every five Americans will be 65+.•Nearly 25% of US households (more than 22  million) have at least one adult who has  provided care for an elderly person at some point in the previous 12 months.•Nearly two-thirds of Americans under age 60 think they will have elder care responsibilities in the next ten years.Family Caregiver Alliance, 12/04National Family Caregivers Association, 2001• Most caregivers Are reluctant to ask foror use formal help• Continue to provide care with littlesupport• May experience consequences to theirown health and well being• Use formal services only as a last resort• Many caregivers don’t see their activities as anything outside thenatural bounds of the family relationship(i.e. spouse & child role)• Three triggers most likely to helpcaregivers self-identify:• Providing personal care for carerecipient (dressing, transferring,toileting/continence, etc.). The care recipients diagnosis (ex.Dementia). Interaction with the healthcaresystem.There are only four kinds of people in the world—those who have been caregivers, those who currently are caregivers, those who will be caregivers and those who need caregivers.”~Rosalynn CarterMETHOD(3-part educational series)CONCLUSIONSINTENDED OUTCOMES• Advertised in local community free press papers and churchbulletins• Online at ElderCare Partners• Flyers placed in local stores • Community center billboard• Word of mouth• Community/recreation registration bulletin• While we met our initial plan to present the education series in at least one senior center, we were disappointed with the  lack of turnout by attendees to the session.• Another attempt was made to present to a more rural community  and only three people registered for the series, so the series had to be cancelled• Through feedback from the five attendees at the educational series, it would appear that they too had not identified fully with the term caregiver, but throughout the educational series began to identify themselves as caregivers• Research data and studies strongly suggest the need to educated caregivers about their needs, stress,  and  health status, to assure they are taken care in order to take care of others.  Nearly two-thirds of Americans under age 60 think they will have elder care responsibilities  in the next ten years.  It is imperative that they be able to locate resources, services and supports to assist in their caregiving efforts.  Individuals living in rural areas will need to be educated more than any as to resources they can access in their limited geographic areas• Lack of registrants for series• May not have been able to find the correct advertisement • tools to reach the caregiver who does not identify with theterm “caregiver”• Adjusting schedules with Elder Law attorneys to fit into thesecond part of the series The need to educate caregivers is well defined in research data.  There are some studies that also discuss this need and its implications in rural communities.  Our economy in the United States is setting a stage for increased cutbacks in social service programs, that will likely affect caregivers and  the care recipients.  The rural  communities in Minnesota and around the nation will be affected even greater, as they are currently at a disadvantage due to  their already limited resources.   It will be of the utmost importance for social workers to be ever more diligent to assure that the needs of the elderly and their caregivers are met  by connecting caregivers with resources and thinking outside the box to  have needs met with very limited resources.Logic ModelInputs•SCS staff• Research data on caregiver self identification and education programs•Senior Center Directors•Guests•Community Center Space•Student researcher and presenterActivities•Researching caregiving self identifcation strategies, caregiver family dynamics, caregiver stress•Organizing literature and data•Meetings and discussion with field supervisor and SCS staff about data and PowerPoint presentation•Set up presentation space and schedule with community education sites•Contanct ElderLawattorney to deliver the second presentation of the seriesOutputs•Complete a PowerPoint presentation with the information researched and from feedback. The first PPT will be for identifying as a caregiver and family dynamics and the second PPT for resources for caregivers•Market caregiver education series •Present 3-part caregiver education series at community senior center site, w/ElderLaw attorneyOutcomes• Initial• Attract caregivers to education series by defining caregiving in different terms• Intermediate• Caregivers will self-identify with the term “caregiver"•Longer-Term•Through the information received from the series: caregivers will lesson their stress and health risks by understanding their needs while being able to identify, locate and use “caregiver” resources •Caregivers will be better able to handle the stresses that family dynamics has on the caregiver, by identifying old patterns and using the coping skills learned to address their stress associated with these dynamic0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 4015-2425-4445-5455-7475 +Number of Hours Dedicated to Caregiving by Age of Family CaregiverAverage Hours of Care Provided Per WeekSource: Partnership for Solutions.  Chronic Conditions: Making the Case for Ongoing Care.  Baltimore MD, Johns Hopkins University, 2002.

In Step with Our Parents: 3-Part Educational Series

https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1452&context=etds

In Step with Our Parents: 3-Part Educational Series

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