Caregiving

The first book to deal compassionately and objectively with a major social problem.

How can caregivers remain both caring and strong enough to withstand the stress of their work? How can caregiving organizations effectively improve their management and practice? Increasing pressure on caregiving organizations to serve more people with fewer resources means that epidemics of burnout, high staff turnover, dissatisfaction and internal conflict often appear inevitable. Holding Fast focuses on the particular stress of caregiving work, its influences on the people and organizations who do that work, and what they can do about it. Illustrated by case studies based on extensive research in schools, hospitals, social work agencies, health care centres and religious institutions, Holding Fast identifies the problems faced by caregiving organizations, and outlines appropriate strategies for tackling these to create a resilient, effective organization. The book is divided into clear sections covering: * an introduction to the nature of caregiving organizations * the disturbances that can occur within them *the skills required to effectively lead them. Holding Fast offers a portrait of how organizations become, or are prevented from becoming, systems of caregiving. It will help leaders of caregiving organizations and their staff gain a better understanding of the difficulties encountered by their organizations, leading to improved management and practice.

Although Hendershott has spent many years teaching and writing about the sociological aspects of aging, she writes that "none of this could have prepared me for the overwhelming challenge of caring for my own mother-in-law in my home." She introduces baby boomers as the unexpected caregivers of the coming decades. The process of family denial about symptoms, work-family conflict, and the unique problems of children of caregivers are explored in an effort to find solutions to the caregiving challenge.

Tessler and Gamache provide substantial research on the impact of mental illness on the family through interviews conducted with hundreds of family members between 1989 and 1997. According to the authors, how families experience the mental illness of a relative depends on many social factors, including how public mental health services are organized and financed, and whether families feel judged or supported by professionals.

This volume examines policies and programs of compensation for family caregivers of the disabled elderly from a broad analytical perspective, weighing current policies of home care services against principles of access, equity, quality, and funding of long-term care. The authors focus on programs and policies that already exist which could be adjusted to include families and to promote support of family caregiving. In assessing the potential of broad implementation of wages for caring, they contend that if implemented appropriately, family compensation may offer benefits not available through any other kind of service system.