November: National Family Caregivers Month
You may be one of the 60 million Americans who care for loved ones who are older,
disabled, or who have other special needs. If so, you may be so busy caring for
someone else that you neglect your own needs. Taking time for yourself is very important,
especially if you take care of another person.
As caregivers, you are family, friends, partners, and neighbors who provide essential
home care services, such as house-cleaning, cooking, bathing, and dressing. Adding
these personal and caregiving chores to those of everyday life can be challenging.
The good news is that help is available. You can learn how to better manage your
time, find support, and take steps to take care of yourself while providing the
best care possible for your loved one.
Sources: Administration on Aging, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National
Alliance for Caregiving, National Family Caregivers Association
 Focus On: Staying Healthy
Did You Know?
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Caregivers juggle many roles. Besides assisting a loved one, most are married or
living with a partner, have a paid job, and care for a child or another elder.
- The average length of caregiving is 4.3 years.
- Most caregivers are middle-aged: 35-64 years old.
- The value of the services family caregivers provide for "free" is estimated
to be $306 billion a year, more than twice the amount spent on paid home care and
nursing home services combined.
- About one-third of caregivers say that caregiving is somewhat or very stressful.
Sources: Administration on Aging, National Alliance for Caregiving, National Family
Caregivers Association, National Women's Health Information Center |
Caring for another person takes a lot of time, effort, and work. These physical
and emotional demands may put you at greater risk for health problems such as diabetes,
heart disease, and depression.
Three important steps you can take to stay strong and care for your loved one are:
- Take time for yourself.
- Speak up and reach out for help.
- Create time for yourself by working breaks into
your daily life.
- Take regular short breaks–an hour or more a day.
- Take a real break—several days or more each
year.
- Seek support from other caregivers. You’re not alone!
- Reach out to people who are helping others and
who might have some helpful tips for you.
- Join a support group.
- Create a “caregiver cooperative” by
sharing much-needed breaks with other caregivers.
- Share your stories.
- Find caregiving training and assistance.
Success Stories
Share your support success stories with others so they can find support and services,
too. Consider these stories from people who found help from the Administration on
Aging’s National Family Caregiver Support Program:
- A daughter, who lived far away from her mother, arranged for a caregiving specialist
to check on her mother in between the daughter’s visits home.
- An 80-year-old caregiver received respite services from caring for her 102-year-old
mother.
- A man who traveled frequently arranged for caregiver services so his 90-year-old
mother could continue to live independently.
To hear the voices of more people who have been helped by the National Family Caregiver
Support Program, visit
www.aoa.gov/prof/aoaprog/caregiver/carefam/
caregiver_voices/caregiver_voices.asp.
Source: Administration on Aging
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- Take a training class to learn practical skills
for providing care.
- Learn about your loved one’s disease to know
what to expect and how to talk about it with health professionals.
- Find caregiver services and support available in
your area.
- Talk to your employer about flexible working hours.
- Find out if financial assistance is available through
public programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.
Caregiving 101 offers a free online course that helps family caregivers prepare
for the challenges of living with a serious illness at
http://caregiving101.org/ LessonContent/html/
introduction.asp. 
Home- and community-based services for older Americans and their caregivers are
found on the U.S. Administration on Aging’s Eldercare Locator Web site at
www.eldercare.gov.
For more tips on what you can do to protect your health, visit the National Family
Caregivers Association at
www.thefamilycaregiver.org/ improving_caregiving/ protect_your_health.cfm.
The American Medical Association’s caregiver quiz helps you and your doctor
examine your caregiver role, identify health risks, and make changes to manage caregiver
stress: www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/5037.html.
Sources: Administration on Aging, National Alliance for Caregiving, National Family
Caregivers Association, National Women's Health Information Center
Prevention Tips: Caring for the Caregiver
If you are not caring for someone yourself, chances are you know a caregiver who
could use your support. Here are some ways you can help relieve the burden of caregivers.
- Offer to be part of the caregiver’s “team” of support.
- Be a good listener.
- Use your specific skills to help the caregiver—whether you’re good at
cleaning, cooking, completing medical forms or searching for health information
on-line.
- Include the caregiver in social activities.
Sources: AARP, Administration on Aging, American Medical Association, National Women's
Health Information Center
Resources
National Health Observances— November 2007
For a complete list of 2007 National Health Observances, visit:
www.healthfinder.gov/library/nho.
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