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Whether you’re a family caregiver or a professional, here are some helpful resources to assist you in taking care of your loved one as well as yourself. Links to purchase these items online are directly below as well as many of the other pages this one links to. You can also visit this caregiver store for a quick list of common caregiver supplies that can be delivered right to your door.

We encourage the use of our consumer resources for infection prevention education, provided that the information is not modified. Please attribute these resources to the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology and include the links to additional resources . As such, home health caregivers must carefully handle these devices to ensure they are effective, safe, and usable in the home to care for every type of patient.
Minnesota Home Care Licensure Requirements
FCs were positive about the step-by-step instructions that the interventions entail. They expressed that the clarity of the interventions would have helped them to know what to expect and how to respond to potential signs indicating that their relative’s health conditions may be worsening. This concurs with other studies that found FCs benefitted from receiving detailed written instructions to which they could refer after discharge . The RA then described each intervention and administered the measure assessing each intervention’s acceptability. We randomized presentation of the measures and their descriptions to control for possible order effects.

Bedside commode help- This piece of equipment is useful for patients who are mobile enough to get out of bed, but aren't quite able to make it to thebathroom. Setting one up and assisting your patient to use one can feel a little clunky at first, but this page will give some tips and tricks to make the process simpler. Using a bed alarm or chair alarm- This device has saved many patients who are afall riskfrom falling. In some facilities, they are already programmed into the beds, while others can be used on any type of bed.
Limited Mobility Supplies
As reported in Table 1, the mean total scores on the Treatment Acceptability Scale were 3 or higher, which is above the mid-range of the scale (i.e., 2), for all interventions, indicating that, on average, FCs perceived all four interventions as acceptable. The mean scores for each subscale were also above 3, indicating that, on average, FCs perceived the interventions as appropriate, effective, and convenient with minimal risk. We’re Home Care Pulse, a leading provider of experience management & surveys, caregiver/CNA training, and online reputation management. Are you recently discharged from hospital, experiencing mobility issues, or in need of palliative or senior care?
They make it easy for them to urinate anywhere and everywhere. They also have the added bonus of keeping up with their amount of output for those who are on strict intake and output (I&O). Deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism are terms that should not be taken lightly. They help prevent such issues from happening and should be used often if recommended by a physician. How to use a pulse oximeter- When I was acertified nursing assistant , this little device was always with me.
Fabric Care
The follow-up aspect of the interventions was a departure from the experience of most FCs, who expressed that they had to figure out care on their own. This is significant because other studies have identified follow-up support as FCs’ most salient unmet need . The follow-up aspect of the interventions can assuage FCs’ fears about complications related to their relative’s health conditions; prior research has found that such fears are exacerbated by being far from medical help . These worries are warranted given that 28% of medical patients experience complications in the post-discharge period and the risk of dying of a preventable and treatable condition increases with remoteness .

Our finding that FCs believed receiving home follow-up would provide much-needed reassurance, address their knowledge gaps, and ultimately boost their confidence, is aligned with other evidence emphasizing the importance of providing FCs with reassurance . For example, follow-up is vital after discharge to reassure FCs as it allots the time needed to review instructions that may not have been fully absorbed or to address new issues that may have arisen since discharge . In a qualitative study exploring FCs’ perspectives on post-discharge follow-up, FCs who received follow-up reported feeling more secure and prepared in their caregiving, and better able to provide post-discharge care . In a systematic review and meta-analysis, post-discharge follow-up was also found to be effective in reducing hospital readmissions . There is a critical need for hospital-to-home transitional care interventions to prepare family caregivers for patients’ post-discharge care in rural communities.
Training Materials
Our findings identified that FCs appreciated that the interventions place the onus on healthcare providers to initiate communication. That FCs recognized their need for information but did not know what questions to ask concurs with other studies [47–49]. Many healthcare consumers have low health literacy and studies have found that those with limited health literacy ask healthcare providers significantly fewer questions than their more health literate counterparts . Although we did not specifically measure health literacy, the low level of formal education amongst our sample, which is reflective of rural populations more generally , suggests that health literacy may have been in play.
You should also follow manufacturer instructions to avoid harming the patient and damaging the equipment. You can avoid unnecessary trips to specialist care by getting the correct medical inventory but it also helps you enjoy the added benefit of saving plenty of money shopping in advance. Unfortunately, people often overpay for home medical items because they get them in a panic or when they’re ill prepared. When health conditions eventually come up, you will also think less about “what ifs” and have more conviction in your ability as a caregiver. Nowadays, it’s fairly easy and convenient to get basic home medical equipment, such as oxygen supplies, IV, or NG tube supplies.
Rebecca Ross, a volunteer in Willingboro, N.J., encourages caregivers to give hospice patients what they need, rather than what they want. Below are resources to assist in assessing and reducing home healthcare workers' risks for workplace injury and illness. If you’re experiencing any signs of Caregiver stress, continue to observe your situation to see where and how you can take control. There will certainly be some things you can’t change, and those are the things you should accept and not spend time, energy, or emotion trying to change.

Four evidence-based interventions have the potential to meet this need but family caregivers’ perspectives on the acceptability of the interventions have not been examined. This gap is significant because unacceptable interventions are unlikely to be used or used as designed, thereby undermining outcome achievement. Accordingly, this study examined the perceived acceptability of the four interventions to rural family caregivers.
FCs valued that the interventions place the onus for initiating communication on the healthcare team. FCs liked that healthcare providers would actively seek FCs out to educate them about the specifics that they needed to know to provide post-discharge care. Comparing the interventions to their own TC experience, FCs noted that healthcare providers typically did not initiate conversations with them about post-discharge care. FC1 recounted that she felt as though the impetus for initiating conversations about her mother’s post-discharge care fell squarely on her. She lamented that “the nurses only answer what you ask them” and there was “no communication unless I ask questions”.
However, the interventions were largely designed and tested in urban settings and may not address the needs of rural FCs. There is limited understanding of rural FCs’ perspectives on their acceptability i.e., the desirability of an intervention in addressing a health problem or need . This is a significant gap because interventions that are not acceptable to FCs are unlikely to be used or used as designed, thereby undermining outcome achievement and exacerbating the challenges of rural TC . In terms of the physical activity intervention having the potential to spark interpersonal conflict, such tension may aggravate pre-existing FC-patient conflictual relationships marked by disagreements surrounding care and decision-making . Role reversal alters power dynamics, especially in situations where the FC was previously in a subordinate position . It is possible that FCs in our study had such conflicts in mind when they expressed hesitancy about overseeing their relative’s physical activity.
Home Care
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