There are currently over 40 million unpaid care partners in the United States, and this number is anticipated to rise in the coming years. Most often, the care partner is a family member of the care receiver who has no prior experience in the caregiving role. Due to the unexpected nature of an acquired brain injury, whether traumatic or nontraumatic, family members are often allocated to this role without any warning while simultaneously trying to process the trauma that has just occurred. Many of these new care partners do not feel adequately prepared to navigate the varying physical, cognitive, and emotional needs of a care receiver following acquired brain injury. The term “second crisis” has been identified to describe the transition from inpatient rehabilitation to discharge home as care partners are often overwhelmed and met with feelings isolation and abandonment by the healthcare system. Care partner burden can lead to poor health outcomes and quality of life for both the care partner and care receiver.
The Caring for the Care Partner program proposed here aims to mitigate the challenges faced by the care dyad when transitioning home from the hospital. Through the provision of more individualized care partner training, care partners will feel increased confidence in their role. By incorporating an occupational therapy perspective, this program acknowledges the importance of client-centered care for both the care partner and care receiver. It includes utilization of a learner profile to identify learning preferences, training for staff therapists highlighting strategies to provide more individualized care, group educational sessions for care partners on common topics faced in the caregiving role, and care partner participation in individualized training sessions with the care receiver. This doctoral project (1) discusses the theoretical and evidence base in current literature used to create the foundation of the program, (2) describes a detailed program description, (3) provides an extensive evaluation plan, and (4) addresses dissemination of information and funding to highlight future directions and sustainability of the program. Caring for the Care Partner signifies the value occupational therapists can provide in offering support to the care dyad as they transition to the home environment. Through participation in all components of the program, care partners will experience increased preparedness and confidence, which results in improved health outcomes and quality of life for both the care partner and care receiver.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bu.edu/oai:open.bu.edu:2144/48752 |
| Date | 13 May 2024 |
| Creators | Fitzpatrick, Lindsay |
| Contributors | Doyle, Nancy W., Jacobs, Karen |
| Source Sets | Boston University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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