Social Robots: Caregiver-Older Adult Senior Evaluations (Research, Video 2: 54)

Before I begin sharing the wonders of social robots used to support caregiving, allow me to address any concerns you may have about robots replacing people or not being that important. Robots can’t replace people, but they can provide services that allow people more time to be caregivers. They give care recipients more opportunities to be supported and stimulated in daily living activities. They allow technology to accurately assess and evaluate their progress. Robots help older adults with dementia gain a degree of independence that encourages them to complete activities. 

But probably the best evaluators of how successful social robots can be are older adults and caregivers themselves. That’s when research such as this can be valuable. This research review on social robots aims to summarize the effectiveness of social robots on outcomes (psychological, physiological, quality of life, or medications) of older adults from randomized controlled trials. Eight databases were electronically searched including a total of 13 articles from 2,204 articles with these results:

1.    Social robots appeared to have positive impacts on agitation, anxiety, and quality of life for older adults.

2.    Results from a narrative review indicated that social robot interactions could improve engagement, interaction, and stress indicators, as well as reduce loneliness and the use of medications for older adults.

3.    Social robots appeared to have the potential to improve the well-being of older adults, but conclusions are limited due to the lack of more high-quality studies.

What kind of role will robots have in the future of older adults?  In this video, Rudy the robot is designed to be more affordable, to help around the house, be an interactive companion, and generally help older adults stay in their homes so they can be more independent. Here’s Rudy!

Frances Shani Parker, Author

Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes is available in paperback and e-book editions in America and other countries at online and offline booksellers.
Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog

Burnout Compassion Fatigue: Health Care, Law Enforcement, Other Service Professions (Video 4:20)

Compassion fatigue is a form of burnout experienced in many service professions such as health care and law enforcement. It results from empathizing too much with another person’s pain. Without realizing it, professional and personal relationships may become entwined. Compassion fatigue can cause painful physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual exhaustion. Resentment may build toward the person receiving care. Substance abuse might be used as an escape from the exhaustion of caring too much.

Healthcare workers and others in service professions should monitor their behavior and feelings for signs of compassion fatigue. Treatment often includes counseling and the development of coping strategies.

This video titled Compassion Fatigue: The Stress of Caring Too Much describes compassion fatigue as explained by workers in the mental health, hospice, and law enforcement professions.

Frances Shani Parker, Author

Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes is available in paperback at many booksellers and in e-book form at Amazon and Barnes and Noble booksellers.

Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog

Quality of Life for the Oldest Old With or Without Dementia (Quiz, Research, Video 1:06)

How happy will you be when you’re 100 with or without dementia? Little research has been done regarding the quality of life of the oldest of the old, particularly those with dementia. With more people living longer, information concerning this age group is becoming more of a priority. Due to their interactions and observations of those aging in their care, caregivers can also add insightful information on this topic.

The following questions are worth considering regarding this geriatric population. See if you can guess the answers after you read the questions:

Do the oldest old perceive their quality of life as good or not so good?

Are their perceptions of quality different from or the same as the perceptions of their caregivers?

What if the oldest old have dementia? Do they perceive their quality of life as better or worse? Do their caregivers agree or disagree with the oldsters’ perceptions?

If you were guessing the answers as you read the questions, you may be surprised by the results of a Mayo Clinic investigation involving 144 community dwellers with mean ages ranging from 93 to 94.

Research Results:

Although the overall functional ability was higher in groups without dementia, all subjects reported high overall quality of life.

And the caregivers? Caregivers perceived the subjects' overall quality of life to be lower with increasing severity of dementia. The difference in subjects' and caregivers' perception is more pronounced for the groups with dementia. Apparently, quality of life is more strongly correlated with depression than with dementia severity.

The photo above showcases Mississippi Winn, a 113-year-old woman who was believed to have been the oldest living African-American in the country and the world's seventh-oldest person. She died January 14, 2011. This video features a reportedly 130-year-old Russian woman named Antisa who may have been the oldest woman in the world at one time.

Frances Shani Parker, Author

Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes is available in paperback at many booksellers and in e-book form at Amazon and Barnes and Noble booksellers.

Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog

Help for Children Who Are Caregivers (Video 5:34)

Imagine being one of hundreds of thousands of children, some as young as eight, who must serve as a major caregiver to an adult on a daily basis. This is the reality of many school children, particularly in racial-ethnic minority communities and among low to mid-income families.

As a former school principal, it was not unusual for me to have students in elementary through high school grades with attendance problems due to caregiving responsibilities at homes when no one else was available to help. These children’s responsibilities included medicating, dressing, feeding, bathing, and more. The emotional stress of child caregivers can be even more harmful to them than the physical burdens. Unfortunately, as the economy struggles and the ranks of baby boomers expand, increasing numbers of children are being assigned caregiving responsibilities.

More people are recognizing this problem, and for some children, but not nearly enough, help is being provided. The Caregiving Youth Project sponsored by the American Association of Caregiving Youth provides in-school assistance and a caregiver camp for children who are caregivers. This gives them an opportunity to receive guidance, support, and social interaction with other children who can understand what they are going through as they manage adult responsibilities. This "New York Times" video shadows the lives of three children who are caregivers and highlights this national program that assists them.

Frances Shani Parker, Author

"Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes” 

“Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog”

Curative Medical Care vs. Non-Curative Hospice Care: Two Men in Love with the Same Woman

Curative medical care and non-curative hospice care are like two men in love with the same woman. The curative man, who has enjoyed many wonderful years with her, is reluctant to let her go. But their joy together has declined with time. While she appreciates the fulfillment they shared in the past, she now feels a lack of commitment to him and an urgency to move on with her life. The hospice man, the new love in her life, fills the void she is experiencing and brings an essential enhancement to her well being. He longs to stay with her because their relationship has reached a mutually meaningful level. The woman he loves embraces the happiness his hospice presence brings.

Unfortunately, many experience this love triangle in varied ways. Patients may resist the prediction of death within months and the prospect of involving outsiders as caregivers. Some doctors and caregivers may be reluctant to admit that a patient cannot be saved. Medical staff focused on curing all patients may not totally commit to the hospice philosophy of non-curative care when working with hospice patients.

Love triangles like this that exist in nursing homes and other institutions must be resolved with focus on the best interests of patients. In order to improve treatment of the terminally ill, institutions that have hospice programs must be dedicated to promoting staff expertise in hospice practices. This commitment must include clear administrative support with ongoing education and monitoring of staff practices. This will ensure that hospice patients receive services appropriate to their non-curative condition. 

What’s love got to do with it? Everything. In some institutions where these positive partnerships have been implemented, hospice practices such as better pain management have naturally become part of the care given to terminally ill patients who are not in hospice programs. True love can be contagious like that.

Can two men be in love with the same woman? Sure, if they respect each other’s boundaries, strive for a healthy relationship including the woman’s needs, and understand that, when lovers lose their mutual joy and loyalty, moving on can be love’s greatest expression.

Frances Shani Parker, Author

"Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes”

“Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog”

Massage for Caregivers of Terminally Ill Patients (Research, Video 3:35 mins.)

Many say that what caregivers need most is caregiving. Relatives caring for the terminally ill at home are particularly in need of support to improve their own quality of life. One form of nurturing for caregivers that reduces their levels of stress is soft tissue massage (hand or foot). This strategy has demonstrated beneficial results for caregiving relatives of patients receiving palliative home care.

In research reported in the “Journal of Clinical Nursing,” nineteen relatives received soft tissue massage nine times (25 minutes) in their homes. After all the sessions were completed, relatives participated in a tape-recorded interview about their massage experiences. They reported that the soft-tissue massages gave them feelings of being cared for, body vitality, and peace of mind. For a while, they experienced the freedom of being worry-free.

These positive results from having massages were experienced by all participants. Soft tissue massages can play an important role in palliative care by providing supplementary benefits in supporting caring relatives.

This video titled “Hand Massage Lesson by Health-Choices Massage School” demonstrates how a hand massage is done.

Frances Shani Parker, Author

Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes

Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog

Homophobia in Nursing Homes, Long-Term Care, Assisted Living, and Home Care (LGBT Video 4:01 mins.)

Life can be horrendous living in a community where you are excluded and harassed. This is the experience of many elderly lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) people living in nursing homes, long-term care, assisted living, and even those receiving home care from healthcare workers. Consider how you would feel being dependent daily on bigoted caregivers who resent your presence. Imagine being isolated socially by fellow residents regularly or only being included because you hide a major part of your identity. Either way, damage to your emotional and physical health can be devastating.

The “Michigan Daily” reports that LGBT elderly increasingly have been “disrespected, shunned, or mistreated in ways that range from hurtful to deadly, even leading some to commit suicide.” Important solutions to this problem include a national drive to train long-term care providers in equitable and compassionate care, and a move for separate, but equal care.

Implementation of culture change in senior institutions requires sensitivity and commitment to the creation of person-centered environments that welcome LGBT residents. As this award-winning LGBT documentary titled  “Gen Silent” explains so well, no one should have to live in fear in order to survive. What kind of quality of life is that?

Frances Shani Parker, Author

Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes is available in paperback and e-book editions in America and other countries at online and offline booksellers.

Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog

Hospice Team Meetings and Caregivers (Video 2:25 mins.)

Many traditional hospice team meetings do not include caregivers. Much discussion has been generated regarding whether this practice is beneficial or not. Research at the University of North Texas assessed hospice team meetings with and without the presence of caregivers. This was done by videotaping both kinds of meetings. An analysis comparing them had these results:

Team meetings with participating caregivers had

1) better team outcomes.

2) more patient-centered goals.

3) increased discussion of biopsychosocial problems.

4) interdisciplinary care plans occurring more often.

These research findings on hospice team meetings indicate that having caregivers present at hospice team meetings adds significant benefits that can positively impact patient care.

Family caregivers provide almost 80% of caregiving in America. This

video addresses concerns of caregivers with hospice patients.

Frances Shani Parker, Author

Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes

Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog

Nursing Home Sex Offenders: Predators Living with Prey (Video 6:05 mins.)

Virginia Thurston, almost eighty years old and suffering from dementia, was sexually assaulted by another resident in her Jacksonville, Florida nursing home. The rapist, who had been sent to the home after being found homeless, had a twenty-page criminal record that included sexual assault and child molestation. A judge had declared him vulnerable and in need of protective care.

Unfortunately, most nursing homes are only required to do criminal background checks on employees. Residents with criminal records can be assigned to nursing homes with no one knowing their dangerous histories. Wes Bledsoe, an elder rights advocate, says he has tracked over 1600 sex offenders living in nursing homes. Most homes do not impose different supervision or separation requirements on residents who are known sex offenders.

The man who raped Virginia Thurston was found incompetent to stand trial and placed in a state home. What about all the other predators who remain? While some say that knowledge of residents’ criminal history does not determine their current conditions, others say sexual offenders should be in separate nursing home facilities. Oklahoma is the first state that takes registered sex offenders requiring long-term care out of standard nursing homes. In the meantime, caregivers must be vigilant in checking their patients for signs of emotional or physical abuse and personality changes. They should also be proactive in dealing with nursing home safety measures, including behavioral and physical patient assessments.

Frances Shani Parker, Author
"Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes”
Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog