Family Physician’s and Primary Care Team’s Perspectives on Supporting Family Caregivers in Primary Care Networks

Abstract

Background. Research, practice, and policy have focused on educating family caregivers to sustain care but failed to equip healthcare providers to effectively support family caregivers. Family physicians are well-positioned to care for family caregivers. Methods. We adopted an interpretive description design to explore family physicians and primary care team members’ perceptions of their current and recommended practices for supporting family caregivers. We conducted focus groups with family physicians and their primary care team members. Results. Ten physicians and 42 team members participated. We identified three major themes. “Family physicians and primary care teams can be a valuable source of support for family caregivers” highlighted these primary care team members’ broad recognition of the need to support family caregiver’s health. “What stands in the way” spoke to the barriers in current practices that precluded supporting family caregivers. Primary care teams recommended, “A structured approach may be a way forward.” Conclusion. A plethora of research and policy documents recommend proactive, consistent support for family caregivers, yet comprehensive caregiver support policy remains elusive. The continuity of care makes primary care an ideal setting to support family caregivers. Now policy-makers must develop consistent protocols to assess, and care for family caregivers in primary care.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Informal Caregivers in the US

“…Specifically, the bill allocates $1.9 billion for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) response to the pandemic, including both state and local efforts [53] . Furthermore, family physicians, primary care teams, nurses, or other community and social work professionals may be in a position to identify and assess caregiver needs and gaps in care, and subsequently refer them to necessary resources [2] . Also worthwhile is the consideration of caregivers' mental health needs, as well as assistance with navigating healthcare and insurance complexities [2] .…”

“…Furthermore, family physicians, primary care teams, nurses, or other community and social work professionals may be in a position to identify and assess caregiver needs and gaps in care, and subsequently refer them to necessary resources [2] . Also worthwhile is the consideration of caregivers' mental health needs, as well as assistance with navigating healthcare and insurance complexities [2] . Similarly, healthcare providers and leaders must serve as advocates for family caregivers, especially considering the extreme conditions of caregiving during a pandemic [38] .…”

“…Informal caregivers are generally defined as individuals who provide unpaid care to family members or friends with long-term illnesses, chronic conditions, or other needs [1] . Considered key partners in care coordination and disease management, they provide physical, emotional, social, and practical support, accounting for 70-90% of care given to individuals with frailty, complex conditions, and other disabilities [2] . In the United States, 53 million Americans serve as unpaid informal caregivers to a family member, comprising a critical and central, yet often invisible, piece of the US healthcare infrastructure [1,[3][4][5][6][7][8] .…”

“…Even under pre-pandemic conditions, up to onethird of informal caregivers commonly experienced high caregiver burden as a result of their responsibilities [6,12] . Prolonged caregiving and high caregiver burden often lead to increased anxiety, depression, severe stress, excessive worry, poor sleep, social isolation, loneliness, reduced quality of life, higher mortality rates, and chronic pain [2,6,9,12,20] . Informal caregivers consistently report rare opportunities to rest, little time for self-care, emotional and physical burnout, and low wellbeing [7,8] .…”

Hausärztliche Einstellungen, Vorgehensweisen und Herausforderungen bei der Unterstützung pflegender Angehöriger – Ergebnisse einer Befragung von Allgemeinmediziner*innen

“…B. Hospitalisierungen) ermöglichen 19 40 . Die nicht immer gegebene Vermittlungstätigkeit hin zu Hilfsnetzen korrespondiert mit dem Befund, dass Hausärzt*innen oft keinen ausreichenden Überblick über externe Unterstützungsformen für pflegende Personen haben 19 24 und selten in kommunale, strukturierte Gesundheitsnetzwerke eingebunden sind 35 41 . Insofern ist es entscheidend, die interdisziplinäre sektorenübergreifende Kommunikation zu stärken und (in)formelle Kooperationsnetze zu errichten.…”