Majority of Caregivers Working; More Seeking Support

Q. As a full-time employee caring for my 85-year-old father, I often feel alone among my co-workers who are younger and caring for toddlers. Are there others out there like me? Where do I go for help?

According to the latest study Caregiving in the U.S. 2009, you are in good company. This latest research was compiled by the National Alliance for Caregiving in collaboration with AARP and funded by The MetLife Foundation.

This latest study, which compares findings from 1997, 2004 and 2009 surveys, reveals that caregiving is still mostly a woman’s job and many women are putting their career and financial futures on hold as they juggle part-time caregiving and full-time job requirements. What’s more, 29 percent of the U.S. adult population, or 65.7 million people, are caregivers, including 31 percent of all households.

Other interesting findings:

• While caregivers and care recipients continue to be predominately female (66 percent), they are approximately three years older now than their counterparts were five years ago. Among caregivers age 18 and older, the average age of today’s caregiver is 49, and the average age of today’s care recipient is 69.
• A higher proportion of caregivers report helping their care recipient get into and out of beds and chairs, assisting with housework and preparing meals. There is also an increase in the proportion of caregivers who say they need help or information.
• Approximately three-fourths of caregivers have worked while caregiving. While this has remained consistent since 2004, there has been an increase in the proportion who say they have had to make a workplace accommodation because of caregiving.
• There are indications that caregiving is becoming more emotionally stressful for some who are experiencing more financial hardship fulfilling this role than five years ago.

One encouraging note from the study indicates that caregivers say they have increased their use of supportive services, such as outside transportation services and respite services or sitters.

Respite help is the key to maintaining a healthy balance in your life. Contact your local area agency on aging and Home Instead Senior Care to find out about the services that are available in your area.

For more information about Home Instead Senior Care of Frederick County, visit www.homeinstead.com/627. For more information about the study, log on to http://www.aarp.org/research/surveys/care/ltc/hc/articles/caregiving_09.html.

Seniors and the Flu Facts

Q. I'm an older adult and increasingly confused about flu shots -- what I need and when. I'm also getting emails about shots. Where do I go for credible information?

Your doctor will be your best source of information about what flu shots you need and when. Please contact your physician and beware of information you receive by e-mail.

The Centers for Disease Control and Preventions in December alerted the media to a scam e-mail circulating the internet attempting to fool Americans into revealing personal information. Those who click on the link are downloading a malicious code on their system.

The CDC said it has received reports of fraudulent e-mails (phishing) referencing a CDC sponsored State Vaccination Program for H1N1. There is no such program. The messages request that users create a personal H1N1 (swine flu) Vaccination Profile on the CDC.gov Website.

Users that click on the embedded link in the e-mail are at risk of having malicious code installed on their system. CDC reminds users to take the following steps to reduce the risk of being a victim of a phishing attack:

· Do not open or respond to unsolicited e-mail messages.
· Do not click links embedded in e-mails from unknown senders.
· Use caution when entering personal information online.
· Update anti-virus, spyware, firewall and anti-spam software regularly.

Recent studies have shown that about a third of adults 65 years of age and older may have some level of immunity against the H1N1 flu virus. As a result, this group is not among the priority groups to receive the H1N1 flu vaccine, according to the CDC Web site.

It is, however, still extremely important that the elderly get the seasonal flu vaccine as soon as possible, according to the CDC. For older adults, the seasonal flu can be very serious, even deadly, says the CDC.

“Each year in the U.S., an average of 36,000 people die and more than 200,000 are hospitalized from serious flu complications,” the CDC reports. “Ninety percent of flu-related deaths and more than half of flu-related hospitalizations occur in people age 65 and older.”

If you need help getting to your doctor’s appointments or picking up medications, contact Home Instead Senior Care for assistance.

For more information about Home Instead Senior Care, visit www.homeinstead.com/627. For more about flu shots, log on to http://www.flu.gov/individualfamily/vaccination/index.html#priority.

Loneliness Spreads Among Older Adults

Q. I think my 83-year-old widowed mother is lonely, but I'm not sure what to do about it. It seems that she has fewer friends all the time. Is she at any kind of health risk as a result?

Not only can loneliness isolate your mother and keep her from forming meaningful relationships, it can also spread, according to a study by researchers at the University of Chicago, the University of California-San Diego and Harvard. A team of scholars found that lonely people tend to share their loneliness with others. Gradually over time, a group of lonely, disconnected people moves to the fringes of social networks.

“We detected an extraordinary pattern of contagion that leads people to be moved to the edge of the social network when they become lonely,” said University of Chicago psychologist John Cacioppo, leader of the study and one of the nation’s leading scholars of loneliness. “On the periphery people have fewer friends, yet their loneliness leads them to losing the few ties they have left.”

Before those relationships are severed, they transmit feelings of loneliness to their remaining friends, who also become lonely. Because loneliness is associated with a variety of mental and physical diseases that can shorten life, Cacioppo said it is important for people to recognize loneliness and help those people connect with their social group before the lonely individuals move to the edges.

People’s chances of becoming lonely were more likely to be caused by changes in friendship networks than changes in family networks. Research also shows that as people become lonely, they become less trustful of others, and a cycle develops that makes it harder for them to form friendships.

Try to encourage your mother to cultivate more interaction with others, which could lead to meaningful friendships and relationships.

Why not suggest that she get involved in a senior center. Or contact Home Instead Senior Care. Companionship is among the company’s most requested services. CAREGivers, who are often seniors themselves, share many of the same interests as their clients. CAREGivers are screened, trained, bonded and insured. For just a few hours a week your mother could have the kind of interaction that may ward off loneliness and keep her healthy and happy.

For more information about Home Instead Senior Care, log on to www.homeinstead.com/627. For more about the study, Alone in the Crowd, log on to http://jhfowler.ucsd.edu/alone_in_the_crowd.pdf.

Hospital Infections Can Sideline Seniors

Q. I have a friend who went into the hospital and got sick from an infection. I am 79 years old and will be hospitalized briefly after routine surgery. What can I do to protect myself?

Sadly, there is research that does confirm your concerns. A check of nearly 1,300 ICUs in 75 countries found that about half of the patients in these units had infections associated with a risk of dying in the hospital.

“Infection and related sepsis are the leading cause of death in non-cardiac ICUs, with mortality rates that reach 60 percent and account for approximately 40 percent of total ICU expenditures,” the authors report in the December 2 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

The lungs were the most common site of infection, accounting for 64 percent of infections, followed by the abdomen and bloodstream. “The study demonstrates that infections remain a common problem in ICU patients,” the authors write.

There are steps you can take to reduce hospital infections including:

1. Ask that hospital staff clean their hands before treating you, and ask visitors to clean their hands, too.

2. Before your doctor uses a stethoscope, ask that the diaphragm (the flat surface) be wiped with alcohol.

3. If you need a "central line" catheter, ask your doctor about the benefits of one that is antibiotic-impregnated or silver-chlorhexidine coated to reduce infections.

4. If you need surgery, choose a surgeon with a low infection rate.

5. Beginning three to five days before surgery, shower or bathe daily with chlorhexidine soap.

6. On the day of your operation, remind your doctor that you may need an antibiotic one hour before the first incision.

7. Ask your doctor about keeping you warm during surgery.

8. Do not shave the surgical site.

9. Avoid a urinary tract catheter if possible. It is a common cause of infection.

10. If you must have an IV, make sure that it’s inserted and removed under clean conditions and changed every three to four days.

Also, if you need assistance before or after your surgery, contact Home Instead Senior Care. CAREGivers can provide non-medical assistance and companionship that will help you prepare and recover from your operation. Good luck.

To learn more information about Home Instead Senior Care of Frederick County, visit www.homeinstead.com/627.

For more information about the study, log on to http://chinese.eurekalert.org/en/pub_releases/2009-12/jaaj-pod120307.php.

For the 15 steps you can take to reduce hospital infections, log on to Reduce Infection Deaths at http://www.hospitalinfection.org/protectyourself.shtml.