Care Team Ministry
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Care Team Ministry
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Care Team Ministry
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Research & Resources Research on Effect of Care Team Model on Caregivers Caregiver Initiative-AoA Grant Results The typical caregiver served by this program was 60 years old at baseline (with an age range of 30 to 85). Most were female (78%); and all were white (100%), reflecting the demographics of the surrounding area. The caregivers were well-educated (78% are college graduates). Most (76%) were married; most were daughters (49%) or spouses (31%); most (64%) were employed full-time or part-time; most lived in close geographic proximity to the care recipient. At baseline, the mean length of time in the caregiving role was 41 months. Over the course of the 3-year evaluation, the average number of hours spent in the caregiving role was 50 hours per week, indicating an intense level of caregiving support. Caregivers were offered the opportunity to participate in the research portion of the project, and 51 caregivers agreed to do so. These caregivers were assessed at several points in time by trained volunteer interviewers, using a common assessment tool with standardized and non-standardized items relating to caregiver intensity, perceived burden, quality of life, and objective and subjective measures of stress, as well as demographic information. Normandale staff were able to track the movements of the 56 care recipients associated with the 51 caregivers who agreed to be followed in more depth. The information gained from this ongoing observation and assessment was telling. By the end of the study, about one-third of these care recipients had died, one-third remained at home without services, and another one quarter were living in one of the following: an assisted living setting, senior housing setting, or in their own home with services coming into the home. There were four individuals (about 7%) who were permanently placed in a nursing home—a low figure when considering the level of care needs and functional limitations of this group. The project included an independent evaluation by Dr. Leslie Grant of the University of Minnesota. His evaluation research highlights the importance of a multidimensional support and ongoing care team involvement for family caregivers facing difficult caregiving challenges. The evaluator looked longitudinally at outcomes among the 51 family caregivers. Using a common multi-item assessment instrument, trained volunteer interviewers collected data at baseline and four follow-up occasions at 6-month intervals. A total of 137 structured interviews were completed and analyzed for this project. The Evaluator also conducted qualitative interviews in May and September 2003 with 12 caregivers; from these interviews, some common themes emerged. All respondents indicated that the Normandale Care Team project services had helped them through providing direct and indirect support. Instrumental aid described by the respondents included such things as grocery shopping, rides to doctor appointments, and arranging for community services. Respondents also described the emotional support that they received (e.g., they valued the companionship, building of their own caregiver confidence, and reduction in social isolation). They had a high level of trust with the Normandale staff and Care Team volunteers. This emerged as an important factor to them in meeting the elder’s needs. Research on Effects of Social Isolation Care teams increase social involvement for the elderly care recipients and provide them with new relationships. Research is showing that improving relationships and social support improves health. “Healthy relationships make healthy bodies, and research has shown that improving relationships improves health. . .The science and the art of the relationship as a component of health or as a risk factor for poor health should be introduced into medical school.” Do Relationships Affect Health? http://www.thepfizerjournal.com “Social isolation was linked to mortality even after
adjustment for demographic, health, and functional status in rural elderly
people.” “It has been suggested that people who are in good relationships might improve each other’s health by monitoring health behaviors and providing social and financial support.” Wu Z, Hart R. “The effects of marital and non-marital union transition on health.” J Marriage Fam. 2002; 64:420-432. Positive effect found for support groups on older people who have lost a spouse. Abstract: When an older person loses a spouse, research shows that seniors are vulnerable to “conjugal bereavement” more so than younger people. Although social support buffers the effects of bereavement, widows and widowers have lower levels of social support than married individuals. Research has shown that self-help/support groups can supplement support from their depleted natural networks. In this study, four face-to-face support groups for widowed seniors were conducted weekly for a maximum of 20 weeks. Participants completed pretest, post test, and delayed post test measures of support need and support satisfaction, positive and negative affect, and loneliness/isolation. The statistically significant impacts of the intervention were enhanced support satisfaction, diminished support needs, and increased positive affect. There was a trend toward decreased social isolation and emotional loneliness. In post-intervention semi-structured interviews, bereaved seniors reported increased hope, improved skills in developing social relationships, enhanced coping, new role identities, and less loneliness. Stewart M, Craig D, MacPherson K, Alexander S. “Promoting positive affect and diminishing loneliness of widowed seniors through a support intervention.” Public Health Nursing. 2001 Jan-Feb; 18(1):54-63. Web Sites of Interest Care Team
Health Ministries
Other Videotape on Care Team Ministry produced by Josephine Sunset Home, 9901 272nd Place, NW, Stanwood, WA 98292 (360) 629-2126; video is 33 minutes in length |