The majority of caregivers in the United States are family members – many of whom suffer from physical ills, stress and other mental health issues brought on by the challenges of providing care to another. Some research studies have shown that between 40 to 70 percent of caregivers have, at least, some symptoms of clinical depression.
Currently, a team led by Maria Aranda (Associate Professor at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work) will be piloting psychosocial intervention aimed at increasing the physical and psychological well-being of family caregivers through self-care management. This test will be conducted in Los Angeles County which, according to recent information, is home to more than 30,000 informal (i.e., family) caregivers of older adults.
According to Aranda, by helping family caregivers take better care of themselves, the hope is that this will allow them to, in turn, provide better care for their loved ones – the majority of whom are older adults dealing with illness, injury, or disability.
Programs such as this will certainly be a benefit for many family caregivers who provide invaluable services that allow individuals to remain in their own homes. Even with such intervention, the responsibility of providing care without respite can be truly overwhelming. While some families have multiple individuals who can assist with the care and offer relief to the primary caregiver, in a great many instances the responsibility for providing care falls to a single person.
In circumstances such as this, AAA T.L.C. Health Care, Inc. can offer the much needed respite care for the caregiver. We offer services ranging from a few hours a day to round-the-clock care. By reaching out to us to provide short-term relief for a family caregiver, we can help ensure that the individual receives the care that (s)he needs while, at the same time, giving the caregiver a much needed break.
Aspects of this information first appeared in USC News (a on-line publication of the University of Southern California)