The article goes on to point out that caregivers are among the three most-stressed groups in the United States, according to the 2012 Stress in America Report by the American Psychological Association. Some researchers call the unique stress experienced by family caregivers a form of post-traumatic stress syndrome and as many as 70 percent of family caregivers show signs of depression — far higher rates than for peers who aren’t in a caregiver role. So who is at risk? Caring.com asks you to consider yourself an at-risk caregiver if you fall into one or more of the following categories:

1. Are you a woman? In general, women tend to have more negative experiences as caregivers than men, says I-Fen Lin, a sociologist at Bowling Green State University, who has researched gender and relationship differences among caregivers. Daughters and wives find caregiving more stressful than do sons or husbands.

   “Men tend to be more oriented to solving problems, and women focus on the relationship,” she says. Women are also more socialized to nurture, which leads to their doing more stressful tasks like bathing, toileting, and dressing, while men tend to do less hands-on care, focusing on tasks like finances and providing transportation or financial support.

2. Are you caring for a spouse? Spousal caregivers of both genders tend to report higher levels of stress than adult-child caregivers, Lin says.

   Wives caring for their husbands seem to have the highest stress load of all, Lin says. “They tend to feel more obligated than adult children and less likely to seek help, and because they’re older, their own health tends to decline.”

3. Do you live with the person you’re caring for? A key risk factor for caregivers is how many hours you put in and how consuming the work is. The average caregiver spends 20 hours a week in the role, according to NAC. But live-in caregivers put in almost double that amount (39.3 hours). Caregivers with live-in parents also tend to be of the sandwich generation, still actively responsible for minor kids as well.

   The economy isn’t helping. Since the downturn, more older adults have moved in with families, and more families have moved into “the big house” to look after elders — and the benefits of being in close quarters also bring added strains.

4. Does your loved one have Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia? Alzheimer’s caregivers have a uniquely high stress load. They tend to experience high levels of burden and stress because of the regressive nature of dementia — their loved one just keeps getting worse — and because there are no really effective medical treatments. And they often keep at it for years. The longer caregivers provide care, the more they report declines in their own health.
5. Does your loved one have behaviors or care needs that you find challenging to deal with? Having to cope with problem behaviors — incontinence, memory issues, sleep problems or wandering, just to name a few — is one of the strongest risk factors for all caregivers, Lin’s research shows. Conversely, feeling confident in your abilities is one of the most important influences on caregiver resilience (the ability to weather challenges) — it can trump feeling overloaded and worried, according to a 2012 study of 500 caregivers in New York, Ohio and West Virginia.

   Medical problems add to uncertainty and stress, too. Patients are being discharged from hospitals and rehabilitation facilities earlier and sicker than ever, placing a burden on families unfamiliar with such technical aspects of care as IVs, oxygen and more, says the NAC’s Hunt.

6. Do you feel you had or have a choice about caregiving? Forty percent of Alzheimer’s caregivers in the 2011 Shriver Report, compiled with the Alzheimer’s Association, said they didn’t have a choice about taking on the role. Informal caregivers who felt they had no choice about the role were three times more likely to self-report stress than caregivers who had a choice about caring, found a North Carolina study in the March 2010 issue of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention journal Preventing Chronic Disease.

   “This turns out to be a big stress factor when we’ve asked,” Hunt says of NAC’s own research. “We let the caregivers determine by their own choice of definition what ‘no choice’ meant: ‘I’m an only child, I’m the only one who lives in the area, it was always expected of me, I’d feel guilty if I didn’t.’ There can be a thousand different reasons someone doesn’t feel they have a choice.” More women than men reported they didn’t have a choice about caregiving.

   Lack of choice can breed emotions such as resentment, helplessness, hopelessness, and a sense of having no control over one’s life.

7. Do you have young children? The sandwich generation — squeezed between slices of elders and youngsters — is taxed by a double burden of responsibility. “Adult children are generally more likely to be overwhelmed at first, because it’s the first time they’re experiencing role reversal with their parents and they haven’t yet accumulated a lot of caregiving experience,” Lin says.

   Although there hasn’t been a lot of research done yet on the stress of a learning curve for caring, she adds, it stands to reason that unfamiliarity makes things more difficult. And that’s doubly difficult when it comes at the same time you’re on a parenting learning curve as your children go through new stages.

“Then there’s a huge group of people who are struggling under the stress of caregiving but don’t exactly know it yet. That’s because they don’t identify themselves as ‘caregivers’ in the first place. ‘People tend to think, ‘I’m just doing what any good husband or daughter would do,” NCA’s Hunt says.”

If any of this describes you or someone you know, check out some of our free caregiver resources to guide you on asking for help, identifying local resources for support and more. Remember, the health and wellbeing of those in the care of a caregiver are at risk if the caregiver is not well.

If you know that you want to remain in your home as long as you can, consider aspects of your current home that you would want/need to change to facilitate safety, comfort and accessibility as you age. Like this:

• Entryways and thresholds – are there steps? How many?
• Garage doors – are they automatic or manual?
• Bathrooms – what kind of flooring is present, tile, hardwood or carpet? How about grab bars for stability? What is the toilet height?
• Bedrooms – is there enough space to maneuver? Are light switches easily accessible? Is the bed a safe height? Are most, if not all, items in the closet within reach?
• Kitchens – how is the height of the counters? Are items in cabinets easy to reach without a stool? How far do you have to bend over to access the dishwasher and/or lower cabinets?
• Lighting – are key places in the home well-lit, like outside, the bedroom, bathroom and walkways? How easily can lights be switched on and off?
• Yard – how much maintenance does the yard require? How high or low are flower beds? If there a deck and are there steps on it?

According to AARP, 82% of people would like to remain in the comfort and familiarity of their own homes for as long as they are able. So it’s no wonder that aging in place home improvement has become extremely popular. Of seniors who make modifications to their homes, 70 percent did so for safety purposes, making planning extremely important if you or a loved one will go this route. 

Scheduling Grandma’s visit to the doctor

As you enter the date and time of the appointment in Grandma’s Page’s CareTogether calendar, be sure to assign the appointment to John. When you save the appointment in CareTogether, he’ll get an email with the appointment details. Be sure to put the clinic’s address in the “Location” field. The description is a great place to put the doctor’s name, the clinic’s phone number, as well as any special instructions for getting Grandma to and from the clinic as safely as possible.

Creating and assigning a task list for Grandma’s doctor visit

After you schedule the appointment in the calendar and assigned it to John, it’s time to provide him with either a list of things to take with him or questions to remember to ask. Using CareTogether’s “Tasks” features, your team can create a task list called “Grandma’s visit” and each of you can add important things for John to remember on his trip.

When you’ve completed the list, email the list to John so he has it with him when he goes to the doctor. Or, if he has a Smartphone, John can pull up the task list from the mobile version of CareTogether!

Sharing notes from Grandma’s doctor visit

While John’s at the clinic with Grandma, he can share updates with the Care Team by using the mobile version of CareTogether. After John delivers Grandma home safely, he can inform the whole care team about the details of the trip by posting a Journal. Other team members can post comments and questions on his updates and journal entry. This is an important step because as team members post journal entries after visits with Grandma, you develop a comprehensive record of her condition and how she handles trips to the doctor’s office, grocery store, birthday parties, and more!

So there you go! You’ve successfully helped John help Grandma have a safe and informative trip to the doctor’s office by using CareTogether. Congrats!

In 2009, the “estimated economic value” of the unpaid contributions of family caregivers was a staggering $450 billion according to “Valuing the Invaluable: 2011 Update, The Growing Contributions and Costs of Family Caregiving,” a recent report from the AARP Public Policy Institute. And this $450 billion figure represents a 20% increase over 2007’s $375 billion estimate. Reasons include a 23% rise in the number of caregivers, a 9% increase in the number of hours spent on care, and a $1-per-hour hike in the “wage” used to determine the value unpaid caregivers deliver.

“Unpaid family caregivers are shouldering a majority of the burden of long-term-care in the U.S,” Tergesen concludes. With caregiver stress and even burnout being common concerns, what can be done to help families? Here are 3 ways you can help a family caregiver you know: 

1. Organize. This is the one the best ways to most successfully mobilize the support that every family caregiver should have. Call a family meeting, set up and manage a schedule that everybody has access to. People are willing to pitch in, but it’s easier to commit if it is clear what they are committing to (and how often). 
2. Communicate. Family caregivers should have a means of remaining in communication because, of course, this benefits the care recipient, but open communication promotes an environment in which family caregivers can be honest about how they’re feeling (mentally, physically, emotionally and otherwise). Remember: if the care recipient is completely reliant on the family caregivers, it is imperative that the family caregivers are well.
3. Break. One of the greatest benefits of mobilizing a “team” of family caregivers who can pitch in is the ability to take a break when necessary. Take whatever time you can for yourself to reduce the risk of illness and burnout.

Do you have any tips for supporting families who are caring for a loved one? Share them with us! And, for more family caregiver resources, click here.

According to the Glaucoma Research Foundation, January is Glaucoma Awareness Month. Because glaucoma affects over 4 million Americans and nearly 70 million people worldwide and experts estimate that half don’t even know it yet, we wanted to take a closer look at what glaucoma is and what can be done to prevent or detect it.

Glaucoma, the “sneak thief of sight” (since there are no symptoms and once vision is lost, it’s permanent), is the 2nd leading cause of blindness in the world according to the World Health Organization, and is the leading cause of blindness among African American and Latino populations. Because early detection and careful, lifelong treatment can maintain vision in most people, we wanted to highlight one of the best things you and your loved ones can do: regular eye exams. Here are good rules of thumb for different age ranges:

• Before age 40, every 2-4 years
• From age 40-54, every 1-3 years
• From age 55-64, every 1-2 years
• After age 65, every 6-12 months

In addition, it is recommended to maintain a healthy lifestyle consisting of a balanced diet as well as a regular program of moderate exercise (which has been shown in studies to have an IOP, or “intraocular pressure,” lowering effect, which can prevent damage to the optic nerve). For more information about glaucoma, visit www.glaucoma.org. And, for helpful informational videos, click here.

Let’s take a journey through 2011 led by the content that was most compelling to our readers:

1. BrightStar CEO Goes “Undercover” With Caregivers In CBS Series “Undercover Boss”
2. From “Undercover Boss” Comes CareTogether™
3. 10 Tips for Long-Distance Caregiving
4. Emotional and Financial Costs of Family Caregiving
5. How to Tell When a Senior May Need Care
6. Family Caregiver Tools: Planning A Family Meeting
7. Few Seniors Prepared for Long-Term Illness
8. Family Caregiver Support
9. When Mom Moves In: A Tale of Family Caregiving
10. 50 Disease Specific Websites for Seniors, Caregivers and Aging Parents

The common theme of family caregiving is ever present and the need for information and resources is something we hear about all the time. Whether you’ve read them before or you’re just seeing them for the first time, these were the articles that really resonated with our readers this year. If you know someone who has taken on the responsibility of caring for a loved one, feel free to pass this information along, you never know what’s to come in 2012.

1. Aging Parents. Aging is part of life, but it can come as a surprise to see a parent start to slow down or experience health issues. Whether it’s bringing them to appointments or visiting to spend quality time, adult children who live locally will often help aging parents with daily tasks. With CareTogether, family caregivers can invite others to view a loved one’s appointments and key tasks through a private calendar so that everyone has an opportunity to pitch in and stay updated on how they are doing.
2. Long-Distance Caregiving. The world is getting smaller, but when families that are separated by distance face difficult health situations, staying in touch can be challenging. And being so far away can leave you feeling powerless. With CareTogether, everyone can stay in the loop and everyone has an opportunity to contribute – even if that means periodically sending words of encouragement from afar or sharing photos that will brighten your loved one’s day.
3. Children with Special Needs. Your children are your life. And if you have a child with special needs, having a solid support system is everything. With CareTogether, parents, teachers and caregivers have one centralized place to share necessary updates and ask questions, keep track of calendar appointments and even share photos to celebrate successes and capture special moments. All from one place.
4. Cancer Treatment. When a loved one is undergoing treatment for cancer, it is not always in their best interest to be interacting with a lot of people because their immune system is weak. And the treatment process can be a long, arduous journey for both the patient and their loved ones. With CareTogether, families have a private platform to post supportive comments, send messages and even use the calendar to coordinate meal deliveries and even respite to give family members a much-needed break.