Over the last few weeks I have noticed that a few topics keep coming up in discussion. One of those topics is caring for older adults. We have discussed the relationship between caregivers and older adults, the stress and obstacles that goes into caring for older adults, we have discussed whether or not younger people have the responsibility to care for those who can't care for themselves and that no one person should have to have the sole responsibility of caring for a person as it is simply to difficult to do. I have found an article that discusses this topic of caring for older adults further. The article is called "Caregivers strong commitment to their Relationship with Older People" from the International Journal of Nursing Practice. The articles discusses that in Sweden, there is growing need to take care of the elderly because more people are choosing to remain in their homes for longer periods of time. This article closely examined the relationship between those giving the car and those receiving care. The article found that whether the experiences the caregiver has is positive or negative a theme of a "strong commitment to the relationship" emerged. An interest point that the article made is that that the caregivers' commitment develops due to a fear of doing something wrong even when they are acting in the patient's best interest.
I was wondering what people thought of this last point that commitment can be and sometimes is developed out of fear of doing something wrong. Also, any other thought about developing a commitment to caregivers is also appropriate.
Here is a link to the article if anyone is interested:
http://content.ebscohost.com/pdf23_24/pdf/2010/81A/01Apr10/48786734.pdf?T=P&P=AN&K=48786734&S=R&D=a9h&EbscoContent=dGJyMMvl7ESep7I4zOX0OLCmr0mep7VSs664SLCWxWXS&ContentCustomer=dGJyMPGvrkiwr7FMuePfgeyx44Dt6fIA
I believe many times committment is developed from one being cautious as to not do something wrong but once you break that tension you can actually form a close bond from the caregiving relationship. I feel that often families do things out of fear but are doing it to keep their family's best interest in mind, for example someone may live with an elderly parent with Alzheimer's disease to help care for them and keep them at home to simply keep them from knowing of their disease for fear that it will worsen their condition. Many times though caregivers obtain their role from genuine concern and compassion for caring the elderly and making sure they have the best aging process possible. Of course I may be biased since I am a Gerontology major ;)
ReplyDeleteI would definietely have to agree with your last statement, but I want to mention an opinion that I thought of when reading this. I think that some people have a fear of doing something wrong, but more-so I believe that some people are more suited to be caregivers than others. For example, my sister likes nothing to do when it comes to dealing with older people, in which she takes after my dad. On the other hand, I tend to go visit and take care of my grandparents more with my mom. Theres just something about older people that my dad and sister would rather have no involvement in their lives, unless its for family gatherings, such as holidays. When my grandpa was in thr hospital and then eventually in hospice, my sister would be so afraid to go visit, while I on the other hand enjoyed spening time with my grandpa. So I think a lot of this caregiving, based on my experiences deals with what kind of personality someone has and the relationship with the caregiver and patient before they got sick/unable to care for themselves.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is important for a caregiver to have a feeling of commitment when caring for an elderly person. It does take a certain type of personality to care for older people and is not meant for everyone. There are people who are better at care-taking than others an I think feeling a sense of commitment can create more positive care-taking for everyone involved.
ReplyDeleteI can see where you're coming from, Ashley. I feel that it does depend on a person's personality to make that decision of wanting to be a caregiver. My aunt is the primary caregiver of my great grandparents and I feel it is because she loves to take care of the elderly and is a nurse. She is able to go to the nursing home without a problem and knows what to look for when taking care of my grandparents.
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