Several studies have shown that caregiving can hamper a person's health. Growing recognition of the burden of caregiving, and the unique needs and emotions caregivers experience separate from the patient, has fostered the development of a number of caregiver support and education programs. One of these programs, called Strength for Caring , was developed for the State of Pennsylvania by Barg and others. Ortho Biotech recently began making the program available to every state. In this program, caregivers learn to cope with the emotional, physical and financial stresses involved in providing care.
Caregivers attend one or two small support groups led by a facilitator.
The facilitator helps the caregivers break down all the issues they are facing into manageable bite-sized chunks and offers suggestions or resources to cope with each piece. In Mary's case, for example, in addition to providing information on how to deal with the diarrhea her husband was experiencing, the facilitator encouraged her to ask relatives and friends to help her with her husband's transportation needs and to do the grocery shopping. Caregivers also need to be aware that the emotions they experience are normal feelings that other caregivers feel as well. Such awareness relieves caregivers' isolation and helps them reach out to others for support. A frequent offshoot of caregiver support groups is that the caregivers become telephone buddies for each other and share strategies for problems.