The Burden of Caregiving at the End-of-Life
Summary:
Here in the United States, home based health care will play an important role in our health care system as the country seek ways to provide compassionate care while being cost efficient to the growing population of older adults with terminal illness or even disabled family members.
That being said, the importance of the caregiver in taking care of the patient’s needs at home in the end stages of life is one that cannot be underscored. Studies have shown that most caregivers are ill-prepared for their role and provide care with little or no support from the health care system. Great stress is often associated with such caregiving, including financial burden, depression and even their own well-being and health. With their …show more content…
Most are forced to give up their job full time to stay home and care for their loved one and this is a substantial cost and sacrifice to the caregivers themselves. The average caregiver is a middle aged woman, with low annual income. Some are forced to quit their jobs because of inflexibility, find a part time job resulting in less income and the daily cost of caregiving expenses. To make matters worse, caregivers are more likely to lack or have limited health insurance coverage due to time out of the workforce which over time can affect the quality of life for both the care giver and their sick loved one. For most caregivers, their own financial futures is at risk depending on how long their loved one is being cared for and also their daily financial
Summary:
Here in the United States, home based health care will play an important role in our health care system as the country seek ways to provide compassionate care while being cost efficient to the growing population of older adults with terminal illness or even disabled family members.
That being said, the importance of the caregiver in taking care of the patient’s needs at home in the end stages of life is one that cannot be underscored. Studies have shown that most caregivers are ill-prepared for their role and provide care with little or no support from the health care system. Great stress is often associated with such caregiving, including financial burden, depression and even their own well-being and health. With their …show more content…
Most are forced to give up their job full time to stay home and care for their loved one and this is a substantial cost and sacrifice to the caregivers themselves. The average caregiver is a middle aged woman, with low annual income. Some are forced to quit their jobs because of inflexibility, find a part time job resulting in less income and the daily cost of caregiving expenses. To make matters worse, caregivers are more likely to lack or have limited health insurance coverage due to time out of the workforce which over time can affect the quality of life for both the care giver and their sick loved one. For most caregivers, their own financial futures is at risk depending on how long their loved one is being cared for and also their daily financial