Family Caregivers: Impact on Their Health

Family members, especially women, provide the majority of care for relatives who are ageing at home.   And according to a brief recently released by the International Longevity Center USA, the reliance on family caregivers in home settings has increased relative to formal care in recent years.

The brief, Caregiving in America: The Health Consequences for Boomer Women, provides an important insight into the physical and emotional health consequences for women with the potential for significantly greater negative health outcomes.   And in the US there seems to be little sense of urgency or even awareness of the growing needs of caregivers.

Even though this brief focuses on the USA, these issues are equally important in other countries around the world.

Thank YOU!

Here in the States, it’s Thanksgiving week. Thanksgiving is not just about food and time off of work, although both are nice, it’s about being thankful to family and friends for all that they give you.

As you may know, I only started at IAHSA a few short months ago. It was right around the time of our conference in London. Right away, I knew that I would love working with all of the IAHSA members. So, I would just like to thank all of you for the great work that you do everyday for the people that you serve. Thank you.

Now I’m off to stuff myself full of turkey and dressing. See you next Monday!

Funding Aged Care in Wales

The Deputy Minister for Health Care in Wales recently published a Green Paper entitled “Paying for Care in Wales: Creating a Fair and Sustainable System”, as part of their broader strategy of improving social services in Wales.

The Green Paper is based on information collected through public consultation, stakeholder events and an Advisory Group.   This now sets the stage for further dialogue with the people of Wales about how they can create a system for paying for care that is fair, simple and affordable.

Sound familiar???   The UK Government is doing the same thing in England;  the US is in a heated debate about the future of health care funding.     Let us know what is happening  in your country.

To pee or not to pee – for females only

The following is a testimonial submitted by Christa Monkhouse, Switzerland, Eden-Alternative(r) European Coordinator, IAHSA and EAHSA board member (2010), CNS in Elder Care

This neat device solves a lot of problems for women of all ages confined to bed, small and inconvenient spaces like camping, boating, hiking, trains, planes and many more.

Pibella is a small Swiss company who invented THE solution for women – pee beautifully, so the translation for Pibella, has been tried and tested by my friends and me at the Eden Institute in Vienna and I can tell you it works – well beautifully, what else.

Action to End Age Discrimination

Older people around the world continue to experience discrimination and violation of their rights.  IAHSA has joined with other global ageing groups to issue a statement to the United Nations Commission for Social Development on the need to explore new mechanisms to better protect the rights of the elderly.

IAHSA has been awarded NGO Special Consultative Status with the UN Economic and Social Council, giving us the opportunity to directly provide feedback on ageing discussions before the Commission for Social Development.   The CSD will meet in Feburary 2010 at which time they will take our statement under consideration.

Regulation Can Work With Culture Change

Every country’s nursing homes face some sort of government regulation. In the US, this method has created tension between providers in regulators.

Recently, the Commonwealth Fund released an issue brief in which Robyn I. Stone, Dr.P.H., and colleagues at the Future of Aging Services “call for a new model of nursing home regulation that strikes a balance between the current regulatory process—which will still be needed to weed out substandard facilities—and a partnership model aimed at promoting high performance.”

As members work to improve the quality of their care and services, it is important to remember the role that a partnership with government can play in this. To read the rest of Dr. Stone’s brief, click here.

Norwegian Member Works to Better Ageing Design

IAHSA is building on its successful Design for Ageing Symposia from the past two conferences. We are looking for ways to continue this important conversation virtually. As luck would have it, Norsk Form, an IAHSA business member in Oslo, recently sent me the following information on their design for ageing programme:

Norsk Form is a foundation that works with architecture, design and urban area planning. With the support of the Norwegian Ministry of Health and Care Services, they have established an interdepartmental network including 13 municipalities, that range from small to large in size and are located all over the country. What unites them is a wish to discuss the design of care homes for the elderly of tomorrow.

The network aims to help develop different care service models that can be adapted to local conditions and needs. Its strategy for the development of care homes can be summarised as follows:

• Development of interdepartmental cooperation for planning and integration in the municipal plan
• Cooperation between sectors so that resources are viewed across departments; for the development of shared use, joint localisation and vicinity with public and private enterprises.
• Integration of care homes and nursing homes in regular residential areas with shared functions
• A coherent housing service that addresses the need for different types and degrees of care.
• Design of good aesthetical surroundings, outdoors as well as indoors, that promote social, cultural and physical activities
• Surroundings that permit local inhabitants to take part in various activities; the care centre as a local meeting place

For more information, click here.

If you are interested in learning more about IAHSA’s Design for Ageing programme, please let me know.

Workplace Excellence Award

Congratulations to IAHSA member Mercy Health in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, for their outstanding initiatives to provide a flexible, challenging and rewarding workplace environment.

Their leadership has been acknowledged by the Australian Human Resources Institute who presented Mercy Health with the award for Equal Opportunity for Women as part of the Workplace Business Achievement Awards as reported in the Australian Ageing Agenda newsletter.

Mercy CEO John Ballard will be visiting the IAHSA offices later in November and we hope to learn more from him about their innovative programs.

Testing Telemedicine

The use of remote monitoring technology to keep the elderly in their homes has long been touted as a way to keep a lid on rising health care costs while at the same time giving the elderly a better quality of life.

According to an article in the Washington Post, a number of pilot projects are under way at retirement villages in the US to test the effectiveness of these new technologies.    Some monitor chronic health conditions such as blood pressure, congestive heart failure or diabetes.   Others can monitor weight or movement around the house.

In the US the issue is cost.   Medicare and most insurance companies do not pay for the use of these types of technologies so getting wide spread distribution is difficult.

We would love to learn what is going on in your country.     Are technologies being pilot tested in the care homes or the community??    Is your government supportive of the use of technologies in age care?

Challenges for Family Caregivers in Rural Areas

Family caregivers trying to provide quality care for their elderly relatives or those with disabilities face many challenges in the best of circumstances.    And it is doubly difficult in remote regions where distances, weather and terrain add to the challenges.

A new study recently released by Carers Australia demonstrates just how difficult and challenging that care can be.  The study, conducted by The Australian Institute of Family Studies, reports that carers in outer regional and remote areas expereince higher rates of disability or long-term health problems and lower employment rates.  All carers in regional and rural Australia were more likely to be living in a jobless household and to experience financial hardship.