Full Description
Support for the family is a key component of palliative care practice and philosophy, with both patient and family construed as the 'unit of care'. However, there is not always formal acknowledgement of the importance of the family carer role, or that of friends, neighbours and other non-professional, informal carers. Consequently, health and social care professionals find carer support work particularly challenging. Symptom management, personal care, and administering of medications are just some of the tasks taken on by this group of non-professionals, and the impact of this role can have negative emotional, physical, financial and social implications on the care-giver. Furthermore, family carers consistently report unmet needs, and there has been a lack of intervention studies aimed at improving carer support.
This book therefore provides an evidence-based, practical guide to enable health and social care professionals to assess and respond to family carer needs. It also explores the wider sociological, policy, and research issues related to family carers and palliative care.
Contents
1. Communicating with famly carers ; 2. Understanding the social and cultural dimensions of family caregiving ; 3. Responding to family carers' spiritual needs ; 4. Policy initiatives for family carers ; 5. Family carers in resource poor countries ; 6. Family carers: ethical and legal issues ; 7. Assessing family carer satisfaction with health care delivery ; 8. Family caregiving in hospitals and pallative care units ; 9. Family caregiving in the home ; 10. Family and palliative care in care homes for older people life-threatening illness ; 11. Family carers of children confronting life-threatening illness ; 12. Family carers of people with advanced cancer ; 13. Family carers of people with advanced organ failure and neurodegenerative disorders ; 14. Support for bereaved family carers ; 15. The future of family caregiving: Research, social policy and clinical pratice
