In early March 2014, the Washington Post published a special report on caregiving. See:
www.washingtonpost.com/sf/post-live/collection/caregiving/
The articles and video interviews are on different aspects of caregiving. One of the articles included notes that nearly 4 in 10 American adults identified themselves as a family caregiver.
Recently, I had a chance to read over the report and watch some of the video clips. I’ve copied below some of the items I found most interesting. In particular, check out:
* Rosalynn Carter’s story about a man with Alzheimer’s who wouldn’t go into the bathroom.
* the article that posits that caregiving can be hardest on the middle class.
* the physician who says: “When I teach physicians, I tell them that asking the caregiver how she is doing is an investment in your patient not ending up in the hospitals. That ought to be on the problem list along with the diabetes and everything else you are investigating, because what’s keeping that person healthy is not you actually, it’s the caregiver.”
* the idea that there should be “support groups [for caregivers] just like book clubs everywhere” so that caregivers don’t become isolated.
* the gerontologist who says that “Research shows that a male caregiver is more likely to get hooked up with services.”
Online, you can find a PDF of the print articles here:
apps.washingtonpost.com/g/documents/national/caregiving-a-special-report/864/
Earlier in the year, the Washington Post and AARP hosted two forums on caregiving in America. Video clips from those forums plus some additional video are posted on the Washington Post’s website here:
www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-live/wp/category/uncategorized/special-report-caregiving/
Robin