Informal caregivers in the community provide assistance for loved ones in a number of ways, depending on the needs of the individual receiving care. Assistance provided can include managing medications, assisting with physical mobility such as walking and transfers, and generally monitoring health conditions. Informal caregivers provide a crucial societal need, as without this assistance healthcare facilities would be unable to meet the broad-based demand for services. This 2-part article summarizes contemporary research on informal caregiving and makes recommendations for lessening this burden within home health environments. Part 1—covered here—addresses the impact of informal caregiver burden and needed educational and training support for informal caregivers who provide physical assistance in the home. Part 2—covered in a subsequent issue of Home Health Care Management & Practice (HHCMP)—addresses—within a framework of contemporary leadership theory—suggestions for successfully lessening informal caregiver burden in home health environments.
This article is Part 2 of a 2-part series of articles addressing the needed educational and training support for informal caregivers who provide physical assistance in the home. Part 1, which was presented in a previous edition of Home Health Care Management & Practice (HHCMP), covered contemporary research on informal caregiver burden and addressed special challenges linked to provision of physical mobility assistance. Part 2, presented here, offers specific training recommendations for informal caregivers that may be provided by home health care professionals.
Falls are a major concern for community-dwelling older adults and receive substantial attention from community agencies, clinicians, and researchers. A review process completed by the Administration for Community Living has identified 16 evidence-based fall prevention programs listed by the National Council on Aging. Although most of the programs are designed for group settings in the community, four have evidence supporting their effectiveness in the home setting. These are CAPABLE, FallScape, FallsTalk, and the Otago Exercise Program. We reviewed the literature about these four programs and identified positive outcomes in addition to reduction in fall risk. Although the results varied among the programs, potential benefits include improvement in activities of daily living, decreased Medicare expenditure, increased fall awareness and implementation of behaviors to reduce fall risk, decreased pain, and improved balance. These factors should be considered by community agencies looking to select programs to address falls for older adults.
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