Family caregiving is something we lend little thought to until it becomes a reality in our lives. Overnight, you could find yourself having to take care of your elderly parents, an ill spouse, or a disabled child. How will you manage?
To be a good family caregiver, you need to know that it will require love and loyalty, which is most often accompanied by little visible reward. However, your time and patience are some of the greatest gifts you can give to a loved one in need of care. But that shouldn’t mean that caregiving should adversely affect your mental and physical health.
The case for assessing family caregiver needs
The assessment of family caregiver needs has a dual purpose. The first is to ensure that your loved one is getting the necessary care. The second is to make sure that your caregiving responsibilities are not causing so much strain that it affects your ability to act as a caregiver.
A thorough assessment of family caregiver needs can reveal some startling realities:
- Caregiver fatigue is real
You might want to write it off to your imagination, but caregiving is demanding and can lead to feelings of exhaustion and despair. It may start feeling like a never-ending round of tasks for which there is little gratitude.
Resentment follows the stress, and soon, the situation spirals out of control. Both the caregiver and recipient of their care will suffer the consequences.
An assessment helps to determine if the family caregiver is coping and what support should be offered to assist them. Their well-being is one of the key factors that will determine the quality of care they deliver.
- Caregiving doesn’t work in a vacuum
Becoming a primary caregiver doesn’t mean becoming a solo caregiver. It is impossible to dedicate 24 hours a day, seven days a week to caring for someone. The family caregiver is going to need support from others. This might come in the form of additional family members stepping in or utilizing the services of companies like Tandem Careplanning to find a suitable caregiver.
An assessment makes it evident what the primary caregiver needs if they are to supply effective care. The caregiver needs to know what support systems they can regularly access to ensure the quality of life of the loved one they are caring for.
- There are alternatives to utilize
A lot of family caregivers are thrust into the role with little or no experience or knowledge. At the time, they are very emotional as there is a loved one in need of their care.
The caregiver might not be in a position to know about the different products and services they have access to in the community. Many non-profits and state-run programs offer free transportation or activities for the elderly or disabled.
The family caregiver assessment can bring the existence of such services to light. The family caregiver can then make use of them to both their and their loved one’s benefit.
- It draws a picture of the quality of care
Any caregiver needs to provide the physical needs of the recipient. And a family caregiver is no exception. But caregiving goes well beyond the basics of making sure the recipient is bathed and fed.
The person being cared for has emotional needs as well. Part of the caregiver’s responsibility is to ensure they get it. This is an important component in evaluating the quality of the care provided.
A thorough assessment can determine if the family caregiver is positively contributing to their loved one’s quality of life. The evaluation can point out areas for development where the family caregiver can get additional support.