scholarly journals Recognizing Caregiving Fatigue in the Pandemic: Notes on Aging, Burden and Social Isolation in Emilia-Romagna, Italy

2021 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 21-35
Author(s):  
Francesco Diodati
Keyword(s):  
Family Caregivers ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Life Story ◽  
Family Care ◽  
Individual Autonomy ◽  
Adult Day Care ◽  
The Media ◽  
Short And Long Term ◽  
Normative Models

In Italy, the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated lockdowns have provoked potentially serious short and long-term consequences for older people with serious health conditions as well as their family caregivers. With the closure of adult day-care centres and the suspension of private homecare services, families have needed to rearrange care activities and many are concerned about the situation of their relatives in residential homes. This article examines interpretations of aging and caregiving fatigue during the first period of national lockdown in Emilia-Romagna, Italy. The relation between old age, lockdown, and social isolation, with respect to global ideas and rhetoric, focuses on vulnerability, individual autonomy, and caregiving fatigue. I examine how the representation of the ‘burden’ of caregiving in late age shaped the media depictions, and I analyze it in relation to the meanings of fatigue attached to narrations from family caregivers and the members of a local Alzheimer’s Café. I also focus on the life story of one family caregiver to critique the idealized vision of family care that was reproduced during the pandemic. I argue that the recognition of aging and caregiving fatigue during the lockdown reflected pre-existing normative models and structural inequalities of family care rather than radically altering them.

COVID-19: implications of self-isolation and social distancing for the emotional and behavioural health of dogs

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Claire Hargrave
Keyword(s):  
Social Isolation ◽  
Human Population ◽  
Companion Animals ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Social Stimulation ◽  
Behavioural Health ◽  
The World ◽  
The Media ◽  
Social Exposure

As the COVID-19 pandemic sweeps across the world, governments are taking unprecedented steps to achieve control and reduction of its affects. Although the potential mental and behavioural health challenges of social isolation for the human population has been widely discussed within the media, less has been said of the concurrent challenges faced by the companion animals that are also experiencing the regulations associated with ‘lock-down’ and ‘self-isolation’. This article considers the immediate consequences for dogs of reduced access to environmental and social stimulation outside the home and increased social exposure within the home, as well as considering some of the potential long-term effects of such measures.

scholarly journals Interventions in Foster Family Care: A Systematic Review

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Bergström ◽  
Marianne Cederblad ◽  
Kickan Håkansson ◽  
Ann Kristine Jonsson ◽  
Christian Munthe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Family Care ◽  
Foster Family ◽  
Parent Selection ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Comprehensive Search ◽  
Short And Long Term

Objective: Foster family care is associated with adverse short- and long-term consequences for the child. A systematic review was conducted on interventions for foster children and foster careers. Method: A comprehensive search process was used to find eligible interventions evaluated in randomized controlled trials or quasi-experimental studies. The quality of studies was assessed with GRADE, and effects were synthesized using meta-analytic methods. Results: In all, 28 publications of 18 interventions, including 5,357 children, were identified. Only three specific interventions had sufficient confidence of evidence. No study had examined tools for foster parent selection nor had evaluated preservice programs related to outcomes. Discussion: These analyses provide new insights and hope into the field of systematic interventions in foster care. The overall results indicate that it is possible to improve eight outcomes but cannot point out which programs are superior. Ethically, social care organizations should systematically collect knowledge about effects and side effects.

scholarly journals A Systematic Review of Interventions That Reduce Family Caregiving Time

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 269-269
Author(s):  
Eric Jutkowitz ◽  
Joseph Gaugler ◽  
Zachary Baker
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Family Caregivers ◽  
Family Caregiving ◽  
Family Care ◽  
Care Gap ◽  
Health Trends ◽  
Care Recipients ◽  
Multicomponent Interventions ◽  
Published Research

Abstract Due to multiple long-term sociodemographic and health trends contributing to the impending family care gap, there likely is no single policy or intervention that could increase the number of family caregivers in the U.S. to the levels required to fill such a gap. However, the amount of time that a family caregiver spends providing assistance is potentially mutable. Given the pressing concerns of the family care gap, identifying interventions or approaches that could reduce existing caregiving time is of considerable importance. This presentation provides the results of a systematic review of published research to identify the effects of interventions on the amount of time family caregivers spend on their caregiving tasks. Pharmaceutical approaches directed to care recipients, technology interventions, case management, multicomponent interventions, and care settings all appeared to reduce caregiving time. Improved operationalization, study design, and similar factors will help guide future intervention research to reduce caregiving time.

scholarly journals Social Isolation and Sleep: Manifestation During COVID-19 Quarantines

2022 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
June J. Pilcher ◽  
Logan L. Dorsey ◽  
Samantha M. Galloway ◽  
Dylan N. Erikson
Keyword(s):  
Social Isolation ◽  
Recent Literature ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Work Organizations ◽  
Sleep Habits ◽  
The Past ◽  
Short And Long Term ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Health And Well Being

Although researchers have investigated the impact of social isolation on well-being, the recent quarantines due to COVID-19 resulted in a social isolation environment that was unique to any examined in the past. Because sleep is one of the endogenous drives that impacts short and long-term health and well-being, it is important to consider how social isolation during the COVID-19 government-mandated quarantines affected sleep and sleep habits. A number of researchers have addressed this question during the last 2 years by examining several concepts related to possible changes in sleep during the quarantines. To best understand these recent results, the current mini review provides a background on the pre-pandemic literature on the effects of social isolation and loneliness with a focus on sleep and then summarizes the recent literature on sleep and sleep habits. In general, sleep was negatively impacted for many people during the pandemics but not all. One group that seemed to benefit from the pandemic in terms of sleep patterns, were younger people who could more easily adapt their sleep times to match their internal chronobiology. Given the potential broad impact of sleep on health and well-being, better understanding how social isolation impacts sleep is an important consideration for individuals, work organizations, and governments.

The MMPI-2 Profile of Individuals with Learning Disabilities at a Rehabilitation Setting

1992 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noel Gregg ◽  
Cheri Hoy ◽  
W. Michael King ◽  
Carolyn M. Moreland ◽  
Meera Jagota
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Specific Learning Disabilities ◽  
Self Concept ◽  
Personality Profile ◽  
Normally Achieving ◽  
Short And Long Term ◽  
Specific Learning

The results of this study indicate that the MMPI-2 appears to be an instrument that can provide useful information to professionals working with adults demonstrating specific learning disabilities. In addition, the results documented that the MMPI-2 personality profile of individuals with learning disabilities significantly differ from the normative population or normally-achieving college students. The population with learning disabilities demonstrated profiles indicative of individuals under extreme short and long term stress. Feelings of social isolation, poor self-concept, self-doubt and extreme restlessness were also characteristic of this population.

COVID-19: implications of self-isolation and social distancing for the emotional and behavioural health of cats

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 138-143
Author(s):  
Claire Hargrave
Keyword(s):  
Social Isolation ◽  
Welfare Cost ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Potential Cost ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Behavioural Health ◽  
The Media ◽  
Social Exposure

As the progress of the COVID-19 pandemic proves slow to respond to control measures, the ongoing advice for humans to maintain social isolation and social distancing continues. The media has paid considerable attention to the potential cost of such restrictions in terms of human mental and behavioural health but less attention has been paid to the potential welfare cost of ‘lock-down’ and ‘self-isolation’ to the pet population. This article considers the immediate consequences of reduced access to environmental and social stimulation outside the home and increased social exposure within the home to cats, as well as considering some of the potential long-term effects of such measures.

scholarly journals Changes in Age Stereotypes in Adolescent and Older Participants of an Intergenerational Encounter Program

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dirk Kranz ◽  
Nicole Maria Thomas ◽  
Jan Hofer
Keyword(s):  
Life Story ◽  
Nursing Home Residents ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
School Students ◽  
Group Format ◽  
Life Story Interview ◽  
Short And Long Term ◽  
Future Plans

This intervention study explored the effects of a newly developed intergenerational encounter program on cross-generational age stereotyping (CGAS). Based on a biographical-narrative approach, participants (secondary school students and nursing home residents) were invited to share ideas about existential questions of life (e.g., about one’s core experiences, future plans, and personal values). Therefore, the dyadic Life Story Interview (LSI) had been translated into a group format (the Life Story Encounter Program, LSEP), consisting of 10 90-min sessions. Analyses verified that LSEP participants of both generations showed more favorable CGAS immediately after, but also 3 months after the program end. Such change in CGAS was absent in a control group (no LSEP participation). The LSEP-driven short- and long-term effects on CGAS could be partially explained by two program benefits, the feeling of comfort with and the experience of learning from the other generation.

scholarly journals Identifying, Assessing, and Supporting Family Caregivers in Health and Long-Term Care: Progress and Opportunities

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 269-269
Author(s):  
Jennifer Wolff ◽  
Catherine Riffin
Keyword(s):  
Family Caregivers ◽  
Long Term Care ◽  
Research Policy ◽  
Care Delivery ◽  
Health Care Systems ◽  
Family Care ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Care Gap ◽  
Sustainable Solutions

Abstract Family caregivers are a largely hidden but vital workforce within medical and long-term care settings. Family caregivers are actively involved throughout care delivery systems and provide crucial assistance to people with chronic conditions. Building on the person- and family-centered care approach and recent recommendations from national organizations, this presentation sets forth a roadmap for research, policy, and practice that outlines practical solutions and opportunities to address existing barriers to systematic assessment and support of family caregivers in clinical practice. With the impending family care gap and projections for a steep decline in the availability of family caregivers in the coming decades, it is more important than ever to prepare health care systems for this shift. If put into action, the recommendations of this presentation can help to bridge the care gap by promoting sustainable solutions and infrastructure to ensure that families are recognized and adequately supported in care delivery settings.

scholarly journals The Cost of Isolation

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Sheila A. Boamah ◽  
Vanina Dal Bello-Haas ◽  
Rachel Weldrick
Keyword(s):  
Family Caregivers ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Psychological Health ◽  
Long Term Care ◽  
Secondary Analysis ◽  
Significant Risk ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Health And Wellbeing

Background: Recent research has found that family (e.g., informal, unpaid) caregivers to those in long-term care can experience significant risk of social isolation, a harmful social outcome linked to poor health and wellbeing. For many, the COVID-19 global pandemic has been a time marked by challenges that have exacerbated existing risk of social isolation and has likely impacted mental health and wellbeing among caregivers. As such, this paper outlines a protocol to investigate the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the psychological health and well-being of family caregivers of people living in residential long-term care. Methods/Design: A descriptive phenomenological design and photovoice methodology will be used alongside focus groups to capture the perspectives and voices of 15-20 family caregivers. Data will be analyzed thematically, and themes will be developed collaboratively alongside participants. A secondary analysis will be guided by a cumulative inequality lens to consider how the COVID-19 pandemic has differentially affected caregivers. Discussion: The results will fill a significant gap in the existing literature on caregiver isolation during this pandemic and inform the development and/or refinement of caregiver supports.

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