Exploring Caregiver Burnout in Older Adults Caring for Their Sick Spouse
Background
Caregiver burnout occurs when an individual suffers from physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion as a result of continuous caregiving (Alpert, 2014). Informal caregivers, such as family members or friends, are at a high risk for caregiver burnout because of their inadequate training to manage increased care demands. Caregiver burnout, also known as caregiver stress, is a growing concern in our society today because the baby boomer population is aging. This has resulted in an increase in informal care provided by older adult spouses who are managing their own health conditions (Rosness, Mjørud, & Engedal, 2011). In this paper, we argue that older adults who care for their spouses with chronic diseases are at a high risk for caregiver burnout.
Analysis of Health Issue
We chose caregiver burnout as our primary focus for this paper because it had a significant influence on our clients’ decision to move into an assisted-living facility. Our male …show more content…
The author argues that caregiver burnout is a result of multiple stressors the caregiver is faced with such as: “a loss of intimacy, isolation, and financial strain” (Alpert, 2014). She concluded that spouses providing care with no formal training, are at an increased risk for chronic stress because it negatively affects their physical and psychological health (Alpert, 2014). We selected this article because the author focused on the growing number of older adult caregivers, and the negative influence spousal caregiving has on this population. This raises concern for the well-being of older adult care providers because they are more susceptible to illnesses from stress, which could lead to higher rates of caregiver
Background
Caregiver burnout occurs when an individual suffers from physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion as a result of continuous caregiving (Alpert, 2014). Informal caregivers, such as family members or friends, are at a high risk for caregiver burnout because of their inadequate training to manage increased care demands. Caregiver burnout, also known as caregiver stress, is a growing concern in our society today because the baby boomer population is aging. This has resulted in an increase in informal care provided by older adult spouses who are managing their own health conditions (Rosness, Mjørud, & Engedal, 2011). In this paper, we argue that older adults who care for their spouses with chronic diseases are at a high risk for caregiver burnout.
Analysis of Health Issue
We chose caregiver burnout as our primary focus for this paper because it had a significant influence on our clients’ decision to move into an assisted-living facility. Our male …show more content…
The author argues that caregiver burnout is a result of multiple stressors the caregiver is faced with such as: “a loss of intimacy, isolation, and financial strain” (Alpert, 2014). She concluded that spouses providing care with no formal training, are at an increased risk for chronic stress because it negatively affects their physical and psychological health (Alpert, 2014). We selected this article because the author focused on the growing number of older adult caregivers, and the negative influence spousal caregiving has on this population. This raises concern for the well-being of older adult care providers because they are more susceptible to illnesses from stress, which could lead to higher rates of caregiver