Tag Archives: care partner

Holidays are not always happy for the carer

Posted on by under Care, Inspiration

I was browsing through LinkedIn today and came across this good article. It resonates with me and I hope you find it interesting and helpful as well!

You hear it all the time: everything boils down to attitude. Whereas it’s true that attitude can have a profound effect on your reality, this doesn’t mean that you ignore what you’re feeling. This is when optimism becomes outright denial…

Gaining self-awareness is one of the most difficult challenges we face as human beings. When are we overreacting? When are we “under-reacting?” When are we in that Goldilocks zone of “just right?” And what do we do when we feel like we’re in the middle of the darker parts of our journey? How do we find our way when it’s nearly impossible to even see the path before us?

When a New Year is less than happy

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How to Come Together to Care for a Loved One With Alzheimer’s

Posted on by under Care, Education
“Hey, we’re in this together, so we’re going to do the best we can do.” People often rise to the occasion when news that a loved one has been diagnosed with a disease emerges. And you might be surprised by what your sibling has to say when you listen, she says. “Sometimes building strong relationships through communication can get better, even when the disease is getting worse.”
Stories from siblings who have done it and helpful take-home tips. Read the full article at:  How to Come Together to Care for a Loved One With Alzheimer’s

Carers falling through the cracks

Posted on by under Care, Education

Compensating the kindness of strangers

Mary makes $8.40 an hour before taxes — $1.60 below the Massachusetts minimum wage — from the private agency that employs her. She nets $610 a week for 84 hours of work — and makes no overtime, although state law entitles her to time-and-a-half for every hour over 40. Continue reading →

ReThink Respite

Posted on by under Care, Health, Inspiration, Research

Dispelling respite myths for people with dementia and their carers

ReThink Respite is a new online resource aiming to support people with dementia and their carers and help them to better understand the benefits of respite services.

“There is plenty of evidence to show that respite can sustain carers to continue in their caring role and keep the person with dementia at home for longer, and yet the proportion of carers that use available respite and other support programs is low,” according to project leader, Dr Lyn Phillipson.

“The ReThink Respite resource will help people better understand respite services by dispelling myths and educating carers of the benefits of respite services. Ultimately, we want to increase uptake and inform and shape service delivery of respite in the community,” she adds.

Read more at:  https://news.agedcareguide.com.au/2016/04/05/dispelling-respite-myths-for-people-with-dementia-and-their-carers/

Visit the ReThink Respite webpage at rethinkrespite.com

Action to improve dementia care

Posted on by under Health, Inspiration

Take action to improve dementia care

More than 70 people living with dementia and their carers have outlined priorities to improve dementia care in Australia.

“Especially with a diagnosis of dementia, I have an important contribution to make to the discussion around the funding for dementia and the way in which we are supported by the Government and the Community. It’s about improving the future situation for people who have been diagnosed with dementia.”

Read more at:  https://news.agedcareguide.com.au/2016/03/29/take-action-to-improve-dementia-care/

Read the full communique here. For more information about dementia call the National Dementia Helpline on 1800 100 500 or visit fightdementia.org.au

Improve the human rights of dementia patients and carers

Posted on by under Care, Education, Health, Inspiration

The government must act to improve the human rights of dementia patients and carers

Few now question the right of parents to stay with children in hospital – so why don’t patients with dementia have similar rights?

John’s Campaign is single-issue and simple. It is for the right of carers to stay with people with dementia if they are admitted to hospital. It is named for the father of my friend, the writer Nicci Gerrard, whose father’s dementia was catastrophically accelerated by a stay in hospital where he was largely cut off from his family.

In the 1960s we had to campaign for parents to have the right to stay with their children in hospital. Few question this right now. So why does the same right not apply to carers of people with dementia?

Source: The government must act to improve the human rights of dementia patients and carers

From innovation to implementation – eHealth in the WHO European Region (2016)

Posted on by under Education, Gerontechnology, Health, Inspiration, Research, Reviews

It’s finally here!

from-innovation-ehealth

Please have a read of the World Health Organization European eHealth report and share it with those who would be interested. In particular, you may find the case example on page 71 interesting, where big data for dementia research and treatment is discussed. Or the case example on page 36 about eHealth supporting aged care and carers.

If you like it, please share it 🙂

Happy reading!

Source: From innovation to implementation – eHealth in the WHO European Region (2016)

LGBTQ carers

Posted on by under Care

This article was brought to my attention through one of the Facebook group called Dementia Knowledge Exchange Global. I have a few other articles on this blog about LGBTQ issues in aging and in care, but haven’t yet focused on LGBTQ carers so this article is a great addition! It is the viewpoint of the author, David, as a gay man caring for his father and what he observes in this role. A good sociocultural piece on how LGBTQs can be stigmatized and overlooked, even when the issues aren’t about them.

Please note that I have edited some of the content to better fit with this blog; you can read the original article by clicking on the title. This article originally appeared on CaregiverRelief.com, a website that offers a host of information and support for carers, with a focus on dementia.

If you want to check out some of my related articles:

LGBTQ people with dementia should not be forced back into the closet

Older LGBTQ still experience prejudice from care staff

Housing experiences of older LGBTQs

LGBT carers:

The isolated among the isolated, and what Baltimore is doing to help

By on September 12, 2015

There’s a double-edged sword when it comes to LGBT people and caring.

First, LGBT people often fall into the carer role. Many caregivers, gay or not, will attest that when you don’t have children and/or a spouse, you tend to be elected mom’s or dad’s carer by your siblings. The idea is that you don’t have kids to look after, you don’t have a spouse to coo over, so “it’s just easier” for you to do it.

In some cases, these gay and lesbian carers are married. And they do have children. It’s just that their siblings and their relatives don’t legitimize them. Continue reading →

5 Therapeutic Activities for Alzheimer’s Care Partners

Posted on by under Care

This post comes to us from familyaffaires.com. I came across it on a LinkedIn post by a gentleman I met in a fantastic online course about dementia, Mike Good. Mike Good is founder of Together in This, an online community helping family members caring for someone with Alzheimer’s. Through short, informative articles and easy-to-use tools, such as the Introductory Guide to Alzheimer’s, he helps them take control and have peace-of-mind they are doing the right things.

You can access the original article on familyaffaires.com by clicking on the title, below.

5 Therapeutic Activities for the Alzheimer’s Care Partners

We often hear about therapeutic activities that are beneficial for the person with Alzheimer’s or another dementia but it’s just as important to consider their care partner – the caregiver.

Living successfully with the disease requires that both care partners enjoy therapeutic enrichment that benefits their mind, body, and spirit.

But because the caregiver is often the only person caring for their loved one, it is difficult for them to find time to enjoy activities that are beneficial for them as well.

There are activities that can be done together that simultaneously meet the needs of the caregiver while providing beneficial sensory stimulation for the person with Alzheimer’s or other dementia:

Read the rest of this article at familyaffaires.com

Helpful tech for family carers

Posted on by under Care, Gerontechnology

This post is about some of the apps out there that are going to be useful and useable for family members and carers of someone with dementia. It’s certainly not a complete list of everything that’s out there, but a summary of the apps that have come across my radar lately.

Continue reading →

Easier way to find digital services for the aged

Posted on by under Gerontechnology

Database of digital services for carers of the elderly launched

3 July, 2015 by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre
The new database publishes ICT-based services ensuring the dissemination of existing good practices and rasies awareness about them.

With an ageing population, the number of people in need of long-term care is increasing. As constant caring for someone is challenging, different services are developed to assist carers in fulfilling their activities. In this context, the JRC partnered with EUROCARERS to launch a new online database of digital services for carers of older people.

This new tool offers access to 78 good practices of digital services for older care at home, which the JRC gathered and that EUROCARERS, the European network representing informal carers and their organisations, helped make available to all.
Continue reading →

Smart Apps for Dementia Carers

Posted on by under Care, Gerontechnology

Apps for Alzheimer’s Caregivers

Here are the seven of the best and worst apps for caregivers that A Place for Mom reviewed, including information about their features, the devices for which they’re available, and our overall opinion of their usefulness and value. Of course every caregiver’s needs are different, so don’t necessarily rule out an app they didn’t praise or count on a highly praised app to work perfectly for your family.

Continue reading →