Rethinking Caregiving for Senior Citizens: Making Caregiving a Rewarding Experience
Sharath Bhat
Retired Advertising Professional, and Thought Starter at "Life after 60" - a sharing community for senior citizens
In recent years the demographic of elders and senior citizens has undergone significant changes, with a notable shift in age distribution from the 50s, 60s, 70s, and beyond. This growth has resulted in more people entering these senior segments, leading to age-related health issues and declining mobility. As seniors advance in age, everyday tasks become formidable challenges, requiring support and assistance.
In this #LifeAfter60 article, we focus on caregivers in India - sourced and employed through agencies that recruit and place individuals based on specific need profiles. These caregivers are our primary support system, and it helps to prioritize their well-being and professional development.
If we need to prioritize a caregiver's well-being and professional development, some questions come to mind:
Do we recognize the vital role played by caregivers? Caregivers provide essential support to patients and their families, often working tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure their well-being. Despite the huge responsibility they take on caregivers frequently lack recognition and fair compensation. Caregivers are underpaid and undervalued compared to nursing professionals, highlighting the disparity in their compensation and recognition.?
Is caregiving a viable career option for young job seekers? In India, caregiving does not typically fall into the basket of career options for young job seekers. Currently, caregiving (seemingly) attracts individuals from smaller towns seeking a foothold in larger cities. While nursing and other healthcare professions often remain the first-choice careers, caregiving seems to be an entry point to life in a big city--especially for those seeking stability and financial independence.?
Does caregiving go beyond companionship? Caregiving is a term that could mean different things to different people (depending on the individual’s caring needs and what she or he expects) but it should cover more than just basic care and companionship. The brief for a caregiver is sometimes complex, and calls for bridging cultural and language-based gaps—it also calls for an intimate understanding of the caring needs of an elder person under their care.
Caregivers also need to work on strong interpersonal and communication skills to build trust and rapport with seniors and their families. ? To achieve this, a planned process of training is essential to help caregivers understand the importance of these soft skills, and be able to maintain their own physical and emotional well-being. (Which includes managing caregiver stress, and finding time for oneself.)?
Can caregiving go to the next level in patient care? In many cases, caregiving goes beyond basic support, especially when it comes to helping patients take their medications correctly and follow regulated diets. This includes understanding a doctor's instructions, giving medications safely and accurately, and in some cases, handling injections and wound care. Caregivers must also monitor vital signs and report changes to healthcare professionals. To perform these tasks effectively, caregivers require training and education.
Keeping this in mind, it will be useful to identify and promote organizations that offer training programs in basic home nursing, medication management, and medical terminology to enhance caregiver skills and efficiency.
Do we need standards and guidelines for evaluation? Evaluating a caregiver's suitability for the job or assessing service quality can be challenging due to the lack of standardized assessment criteria at the service provider level. What we need here are (easy-to-understand) evaluation processes that will help outline qualifiers and deliverables. By establishing these standards, families can make informed decisions, and caregivers (or organizations placing them) to ensure that caregivers work within a brief and to the expectations of the immediate family.?
Can hospitals facilitate caregiver training and development? Hospitals can facilitate caregiver training by partnering with service providers and acting as independent recruiters. This collaboration helps bridge the supply-demand gap, creating career pathways for young individuals transitioning into careers or completing their basic education. Hospitals can integrate trained caregivers as interns in 24/7 bedside care and patient recovery monitoring, yielding additional revenue streams and improved patient outcomes.
This hands-on experience refines caregiver skills, preparing them for future roles. Upon successful completion of training, a hospital-issued certificate serves as a valuable job qualifier, recognizing individual achievement. (Recognizable credentials for caregivers.)
At the end of the day, caregivers play a far more critical role in the long run, providing continuous support to patients and their families, after elders return from a hospital intervention. Nurses may provide medical assistance, but caregivers provide emotional, physical, and psychological support, enabling patients to recover in the comfort of their own homes.
By acknowledging the importance of caregivers and providing fair compensation and recognition, we can create a more sustainable and compassionate healthcare network. With the right training, education, and skills, caregivers can build fulfilling careers and make a meaningful difference in the lives of seniors and individuals with disabilities.
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Please note that the terms senior citizen, patient, elders, and individuals with disabilities can relate to the individual receiving care. The article largely draws from my experience with service providers and caregivers to my parents and my wife’s parents over the last 30 years.
Some useful links
https://rehabcouncil.nic.in/sites/default/files/CCCG_2023.pdf https://www.matasahibkaurcollegeofnursing.org/home-based-care-helper/ https://www.matasahibkaurcollegeofnursing.org/hospital-and-home-based-care-attendant/ https://in.linkedin.com/company/homecare-association-of-india
I will continue to update and add to this list of relevant links. You too could suggest links that other readers may find useful, in the comments section.
This newsletter post on "Life after 60" is an interesting exercise using AI tools – a combination of Meta and Gemini. Based on initial concepts and briefing, these tools assisted with progressive feedback to refine the story framework and strengthen key points. Final edits were done to enable a constructive and engaging reader experience.?
Stock Image attribution: Jsme MILA on pexels.com
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Sky Blue Alerts & Services - Cost Effective Assisted Living Services for Elders@home - with Volunteers & Relationship Managers work from Home with Emerging Tech and AI - formerly called Project Vishram
1 个月There needs to be a Clear understanding of the role of Caregivers. Remaining 24X7 for a long lengths of time drains the physical & emotional energy of Caregivers. Having multiple Caregivers working on shifts would be more productive. The downside is the Elder and Family member may get biased with certain qualities of different Care Givers and ignore the positive side of each individual.
Thank you, Sharath, for shining a light on the critical role caregivers play in the lives of seniors. Your insights emphasize the need for greater recognition and support for these unsung heroes who truly make a difference in our communities.
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1 个月Very insightful article Sharath. You have highlighted very important points. It's a very essential service and more and more of it is going to be needed in almost all families at some point. Thanks Sharath for this informative article and looking forward to the next one...
Chief Business Officer- 2050 Healthcare I Out of Hospital Care I P & L responsibility & Business development, Patient Centricity, Eldercare|Senior Living|Ex Cipla|Novartis|Dr Reddys|MSD
1 个月Very informative and the need of the hour is to understand and respect the caregivers.
CEO -ElderAid Wellness Pvt Ltd
1 个月Excellent piece on the vital role caregivers play! At ElderAid, we're committed to delivering exceptional care and promoting the well-being of both caregivers and recipients. Discover how we can support someone in your family who might need a responsible, caring person to assist them: www.elderaid.in