Making a Difference During a Caregiver Shortage

Caregivers are crucial for maintaining the elderly or disabled population in any society. Many people don’t have the ability to do things that we consider routine. Caregiver responsibilities typically include:

• Monitoring Health
• Distributing Medication
• Basic Need Assistance
• Housekeeping Duties
• Providing Companionship
• Preparing Meals
• Mobility and Transportation Assistance

Without caretakers, elderly and disabled members of society won’t get the level of care that they need, which lowers their quality of life.

Let’s zero in on caretaker responsibilities that demonstrate why they’re so critical:

33% of adults aged 90 or older suffer from dementia. This illness could cause them to take the wrong amount of medication or the wrong medication entirely. Mixing medications in the wrong quantities can be extremely dangerous. Medications have dangerous effects when not taken exactly as prescribed, and caregivers make sure that the elderly aren’t creating dangerous drug combinations.

Elderly Americans or people with disabilities aren’t always equipped to monitor their medication intake, especially when they’re given huge quantities of it. Elderly Americans already have to juggle dozens of medications, and dementia or other mental disorders may make them completely unequipped to handle that task.

Research has established strong links between loneliness and conditions like:

• High Blood Pressure
• Heart Disease
• Obesity
• Weakened Immune Systems
• Cognitive Decline
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Alzheimer’s
• Death

The caregiving industry does more than take care of physical needs. Humans are wired to be social, and caregivers make sure that the elderly are getting the social interaction they need. Social interaction helps older adults stay mentally present and engaged in their lives.

Older adults are especially vulnerable to social isolation because their friends, family, and spouses often pass away before them. The caregiver shortage affects more than the physical health of the elderly—it affects their mental wellbeing too.

Elders struggle to move around on their own. Things that we take for granted like a flight of stairs, bathroom trip, or car ride could be insurmountable tasks for them. Caregivers are responsible for fulfilling the home health care and mobility needs of elderly citizens.

Outside of in-house mobility, caregivers assist the elderly when they want to take a trip somewhere. Studies show that getting out of the house regularly increases elderly citizens’ lifespans. The shortage of home care workers means that older citizens will spend more time alone in their homes and less time out. This isolation will affect their mental and physical health.