Responsibilities and Expectations of Caregivers

Caregivers are crucial to assisting individuals in need of support with the activities of daily living. They can be family members assisting relatives or trained healthcare professionals. Some caregivers live-in with the person they’re assisting, while others work in shifts. While this article focuses on the roles of caregivers for older adults undergoing age-related changes, caregivers can assist people of all ages with a range of injuries and disabilities. Ultimately, caregivers are essential for providing a strong support system for any individual and relieving some of their clients’ burdens as they navigate health changes.

While a caregiver’s role can change based on their client’s needs, general duties include preparing nutritious meals, keeping the surrounding areas clean, maintaining general hygiene (e.g., showering, brushing teeth, etc.), managing medications, and supporting regular levels of activity. They may also take on responsibilities outside the house, such as running errands and taking their clients to appointments. As older adults are especially susceptible to loneliness, caregivers can be thought of as a senior’s companion and be someone the senior turns to for moral support. No matter how many tasks a caregiver takes on, their client’s sense of independence and individual well-being should remain their priority.

Individuals with dementia can pose additional challenges for care, as dementia is a condition defined by a progressive decline in cognition, behavior, and personality. These symptoms can advance until the person eventually forgets familiar people and places, and is completely unable to perform daily activities on their own. A caregiver’s role for someone newly diagnosed with early-stage dementia is to take time establishing their new relationship with the client, and to ensure a stress-free transition. As the Alzheimer’s Association recommends, they can start by taking on the tasks their client overlooks by making so-called “positive assumptions.” These assumptions are beliefs that the individual with dementia is capable of completing a task unless proven otherwise. A caregiver can then take steps to remedy frustrations and find an alternative method for the individual to complete the task, all while retaining their sense of independence.

As an individual progresses from early through middle-stage dementia, they are expected to have more trouble with communication, daily tasks, and grow increasingly frustrated at their prospects. For that reason, their caregiver will take on more tasks to ensure the comfort of the individual and incorporate a sense of meaning through previously enjoyed activities.

By the time someone reaches late-stage dementia, they will likely require full-time care. A caregiver will need to be more attuned with the individual’s needs, as they will likely have more trouble articulating them on their own. Even with communication barriers, a caregiver can still use active listening and acute observation to ensure that they are meeting their client’s every need. Since it can be hard for people with dementia to respond to many demands at once, it is helpful for their caregiver to use simple language and not overcomplicate questions or requests, while also keeping a positive mood and limiting distractions in the immediate environment.

Additionally, when the individual completely loses their ability to verbally communicate, a caregiver can use physical and nonverbal signs to understand when their client is in pain and to create scheduled breaks. Routines are helpful to keep up with responsibilities for bathing, dressing, dietary needs, protection from infections, and ensuring some degree of regular movement. With that being said, it is recommended to seek medical advice if any symptoms become difficult to manage.

Despite all the rewards of caregiving, caregivers are at high risk of depression, anxiety, burnout, decreased quality of life, and poorer physical health, due to the fact that much of their time is devoted to someone else’s well-being. To navigate these challenges of caregiving, it is important for caregivers to take care of their own health by monitoring themselves for signs of exhaustion and declining mental health, and getting regular sleep, exercise, and nutrition. Likewise, they can turn to other people for support and take breaks as needed to ensure that they are in a good place to take care of their client. These self-care activities are important, especially since many of the caregivers who contributed to the report in “Families Caring for an Aging America” expressed the desire to continue caregiving. They supported their decision by citing the reward of being able to help people, enhance self-efficacy, and build strong relationships with individuals. Additionally, carers emphasize their ability to grow in terms of interpersonal communication (e.g., compassion, empathy, etc.), learn new skills, and cultivate long-term bonds while working.

It is important to note that there is a shortage of caregivers in the United States. We need to consider this as the number of individuals who require support is expected to increase over the next 15 years due to growth in the aging population. This further highlights the importance of caregivers, especially as a study by Premier Home Care reported that nearly 12 million adults aged 65 years or older living in the US in 2020 required assisted living or in-home support. If you are interested in becoming a caregiver, search for your state’s requirements, look into caregiving courses, and obtain certification. Even if you are not ready to take this step yet, you can still find ways to support local caregivers through simple acts of kindness. These actions go a long way to ensure that caregivers and their clients are well looked after.

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