November marks the nationally celebrated Family Caregiver Month, honoring Americans who are the primary caregiver for an aging or disabled loved one. With over 50 million Americans caring for an aging spouse, parent, disabled adult child, or raising a grandchild, National Caregivers Month offers validation and support for the growing number of family caregivers.

One of the key ways that family caregivers can avoid “burnout” and practice caring for themselves is through finding support and outside help. Help from others, whether its from another family member or a professional home care provider, helps the caregiver reduce stress, restore balance to their life, and enhances the relationship between the caregiver and their loved one.

Across America, more and more older Americans are choosing to stay at home and be cared for by family members instead of entering institutional care. In fact, according to a recent study, 89 percent of people over age 50 wish to remain at home for as long as possible. This shift towards home care is putting pressure and responsibility on the spouse of an older person and adult children.

Similarly, more and more grandparents are being faced with the task of actually raising their grandchildren. They are often suddenly faced with the responsibility of providing care and aren’t always prepared for the emotional and physical toll.

National Family Caregiver Month was developed to recognize and honor the roles that family play as caregivers. If you are a family caregiver, remember these tips–

1. Take care of yourself, too. Take time off from caregiving every week.
2. Don’t be afraid to seek help. Other family members usually will help if asked.
3. Communicate with family members. Be honest with family about how things are going.
4. Seek information that can help you understand and deal with such conditions as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
5. When roadblocks frustrate you, keeping trying and maintain your sense of humor. “When you’re up to your neck in alligators, it’s hard to remember that your original purpose was to drain the swamp.”

The Family Caregivers Support Program are services provided by local senior centers which serve as family caregiver resource centers in Southern Illinois and provide the following services.

1. Information about services given to family caregivers of older adults and to grandparents raising grandchildren.
2. Assistance in gaining access to such services.
3. Individual Counseling, organization of Support Groups, and family caregiver seminars & workshops to help them make decisions and solve problems relating to their roles as caregivers.
4. In-Home Respite Care and Adult Day Services to enable family caregivers to be temporarily relieved from their caregiving responsibilities.
5. Supplemental, or gap-filling services, provided on a limited basis to complement the care provided by family caregivers.

Eligibility for the Family Caregiver Support Program is open to all family members who prove care for older adults – including spouses, adult children of older parents, and grandparents (and older family members) raising grandchildren, including those who care for children with mental retardation and related developmental disabilities.

Priority is given to those with greatest economic and social need, with particular attention to low-income, and those providing care and support to children with mental retardation and related developmental disabilities.

Use this “drop-down” list to view all of the Family Caregiver Support Services:

Who are the Caregivers?

Family members are the primary providers of long-term care to older adults. These family caregivers are very diverse in the manner in which they provide care and the consequences that they experience. Some family members thrive, some simply survive, and others suffer severe consequences.

When available, a spouse provides the majority of care. In the absence of a spouse, a daughter is most likely to assume the role. In the absence of a daughter, a son will assume the role although he may well transfer many care tasks to his wife. In the absence of offspring, other, more distant family members become responsible.

What Is Caregiving?

Caregiving is a role that emerges from prior family-friend relationships. It is influenced by the unique values, beliefs, cultural background, and circumstances of the family caregiver. Caregiving is a dynamic process that unfolds over time and has a beginning, some definable temporal extension or duration, and an end or resolution.

The types and intensity of tasks that family caregivers perform vary dramatically, depending upon the familial role of the family caregiver. Spouses report performing between 40 and 60 hours of caregiving tasks which include household chores, meal preparation and personal care, such as bathing, dressing and toileting. In contrast, adult children, on average, spend 15 to 30 hours per week performing care tasks which are provided in shorter periods of time and tend to concentrate on care management and assisting with transportation, banking, and shopping.

Family caregivers, especially spouses, seek formal assistance relatively late in their caregiving career. Whether or not a family caregiver will choose to accept a service is dependent on many factors including whether a service will be of assistance in their situation or for their condition.

For example, if the wife of an impaired older person adheres to the belief that she is responsible for her husband’s care, she may well experience serious guilt or embarrassment if she seeks the help of an outsider. On the other hand, as the wife’s health deteriorates or as the burden of care increases, due to the increasing demands of caregiving or perceived loss of a significant relationship, the benefits associated with outside assistance will increase.

Because family caregivers arrive at their new role with very diverse histories, they also arrive with very different support needs. Consequently, some family caregivers will simply need information, other caregivers will need emotional support, and still others will need assistance with direct care tasks. When they do seek services, they use such services as education programs, In-Home Respite Care, Adult Day Services, Counseling, Support Groups, Homemaker services, and Home Health Care.

Family caregivers have been shown to benefit from support groups through a decreased stress and subjective burden, and increased active coping strategies and knowledge of community resources. Support groups may be more difficult for spouses to attend due to lack of transportation, lack of respite and greater dependence of the care receivers.

If you have a question you would like us to answer, use the link below to contact us.

Don't live in Southern Illinois? Use the Eldercare Locator to find aging services elsewhere.

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Source for general caregiver information in this document: Change, Continuity and Diversity Among Caregivers by Rhonda J. V. Montgomery, Ph.D., Director, Gerontology Center, University of Kansas and Karl D. Kosloski, Ph.D., University of Nebraska.

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