About two out of three older care recipients get help from only one unpaid caregiver. 6 In many cases, they are alone in this work. 1 If they are providing care to an elder who is 65 years or older, they are, on average, 63 years old themselves and caring for a spouse one-third of these caregivers are in fair to poor health themselves. Those caring for someone 50 years or older are 47 years old-on average-and working at least part-time. 5 Nurses are likely to see many of these caregivers, although many of them will not identify themselves as a caregiver. 4 These male caregivers are becoming more involved in complex tasks like managing finances and arranging care, as well as direct assistance with more personal care. 3 But at least 40 percent of caregivers are men, 3 a growing trend demonstrated by a 50 percent increase in male caregivers between 19. 2 Most caregivers are women who handle time-consuming and difficult tasks like personal care. 1 The economic value of their unpaid work has been estimated at $257 billion in 2000 dollars. Recent surveys estimate there are 44 million caregivers over the age of 18 years (approximately one in every five adults). The terms family caregiver and informal caregiver refer to an unpaid family member, friend, or neighbor who provides care to an individual who has an acute or chronic condition and needs assistance to manage a variety of tasks, from bathing, dressing, and taking medications to tube feeding and ventilator care. The second section addresses research aimed at protecting the care recipient from an ill-prepared family caregiver. In the first section, we discuss the evidence for protecting the caregiver from harm. The focus is not on those with developmental disabilities.
The focus is on the adult caregiver who provides care and support primarily for adults with chronic illnesses and chronic health problems. This chapter summarizes patient safetyand quality evidence from both of these perspectives. Second, family caregivers are unpaid providers who often need help to learn how to become competent, safe volunteer workers who can better protect their family members (i.e., the care recipients) from harm. Research supporting this caregiver-as-client perspective focuses on ways to protect family caregivers’ health and safety, because their caregiving demands place them at high risk for injury and adverse events.
First, caregivers are sometimes referred to as “secondary patients,” who need and deserve protection and guidance. Family caregiving raises safety issues in two ways that should concern nurses in all settings. In the case of older adults and people with chronic disabilities of all ages, this “informal care” can be substantial in scope, intensity, and duration. Most patients have families that are providing some level of care and support.
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