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Caregiving
Statistical Facts
*1/3 of Caregivers
provide intense and continuing care to others while suffering
from poor health themselves
(American Journal of Public Health, Vol.92, No.3, March 2002)
*Compared
to non-caregivers, men and women who care for a spouse with
dementia or a stroke report more episodes of illness, poorer
responses to viruses, slower wound healing and may be at greater
risk for coronary heart disease.
( Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol.100,No.15,
July, 2003)
*One 4 year
study found that middle-aged and older women who provided care
for an ill or disabled spouse were almost 6 times as likely
to suffer from depression or anxious symptoms as were those
who had no caregiving responsibilities.
(American Journal of Public Health, Vol.92, No.8, August 2002)
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The Council on Aging
for Southeastern VT has joined with the National Association of Area
Agencies on Aging to increase awareness of local physicians in identifying
caregivers and their need for supportive services.
The Council will
be actively recruiting physicians, in the coming months to partner
with us in reaching out to area caregivers.
Because many caregivers
do not identify themselves as such, physicians and their staff frequently
interact with caregivers without knowing it. Caregivers often accompany
an older relative to a doctor's appointment, or may see the doctor
for their own health problems, which they many or may not associate
with their caregiving responsibilities. By participating in Making
the Link: Connecting Caregivers through Physicians, physicians are
able to identify their caregiving patients and refer them to helpful
services provided by the Council on Aging for Southeastern VT.
It is estimated
that in 23% of households nationwide, individuals are providing care
to someone who is at least 50 years old and suffering from physical
or mental limitations. Caregivers often need help for themselves.
Research has shown that caregiving often results in increased stress,
depression, illness and even premature mortality. Yet caregiving experts
report that physicians do not routinely recognize the stress that
caregivers are under or provide them information that might be of
help. Making the Link is designed to help remedy that situation.
"Caregivers
give of themselves tirelessly to make life better for their loved
ones, often at their own peril," says Marie Saunders, Executive
Director of the Council on Aging for Southeastern VT. "With the
help of our local physicians we hope to make life better for the caregivers
as well."
Making the
Link is in cooperation with the National Area Agencies on Aging
(n4a) and the U.S. Administration on Aging.
www.n4a.org
www.aoa.gov
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Making
the Link Physician Partners
We are pleased to announce that the following Physicians are
currently working with us to identify caregivers in the greater
Brattleboro area.
Dr. Robert Tortolani Dr.
Clifford Langweiler
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While most older
people prefer to remain at home and in the community, caregiving can
exact a heavy toll on those who provide care, writes Leslie Gray,
Informational Specialist, in a September policy brief for the Family
Caregiver Alliance and National Center on Caregiving. A large body
of research has documented the physical, financial and emotional toll
of caregiving. While stress, burden and anxiety are common hallmarks
of the caregiving experience, high rates of depressive symptoms among
family and informal caregivers have been noted extensively in the
research literature and warrant special attention.
The writer also
states that when caregivers feel depressed and overwhelmed by their
caregiving tasks, they are more likely to suffer burnout and make
the often agonizing decision to place their loved ones in a nursing
home. Research shows that home care is significantly less costly than
nursing homes, thus early institutionalization of the ill or frail
family member is likely to be more costly than if people remain at
home. (U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services [HHS], 1999).
Gray says there
are many barriers to recognition and treatment of caregivers. They
include:
- Not seeking
out appropriate mental or physical health care service.
- Not having
access to effective and affordable mental health services.
- A shortage
of publicly-funded caregiver support services.
In partnership
with the Making the Link Program the Council would like to help eliminate
some of these barriers
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Caregiver
Grants
are available.
Call Sarah Corey at:
1-800-642-5119
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Making
The Link Organizational Partners
American
Academy of Ophthalmology
American
Academy of Family Physicians
American
Association of Medical Society Executives
American
College of Physicians-American
Society of Internal Medicine
American
College of Rheumatology
American
Geriatrics Society
American
Medical Association
Plus
many more