LTS Weekly News Roundup

Caregiving in the News: 
Science Daily: Simple, Low-Cost Yoga Program Can Enhance Coping and Quality of Life for the Caregivers
A study released by UCLA this week found that 12 minutes of yoga a day can reduce symptoms of depression in caregivers and also improve cognitive functioning.

Family Caregiver Alliance: 27 Things You May not Know about Women and Caregiving
In honor of International Women’s Day 2012, the Family Caregiver Alliance compiled 27 statistics about female caregivers and how they are impacted differently than male caregivers.

Elder Health in the News:
Chicago Tribune: Elderly sometimes keep using opioids after surgery
A recent study conducted in Canada indicated that one in ten older adults prescribed an opioid painkiller for surgery will continue to fill the prescription a year after the surgery happened.

BBC News: Poor literacy ‘increase early death risk for elderly’
According to University College London, one in three adults over 65 in England struggle with understanding health information, and as a result are more than twice as likely to die within five years.

Long-Term Care Industry News:
New York Times: Cost of Long-Term Care Insurance Keeps Rising
The American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance has announced that after analyzing 10 popular long-term care policies, they have found that prices for these policies have risen by 17%.

The Wall Street Journal: Long-Term Care: What Now?
With many insurance companies halting the sale of long-term care policies or raising premiums, it’s difficult to decide how to address your long-term care needs. This article reviews four options for addressing this.

Spring Break for Caregivers

It’s spring break for most colleges, and we think caregivers deserve a break too! Wouldn’t it be great to take two weeks off, jet away to a distant island and shut the world out? Unfortunately, for caregivers that’s not always an option. For the most part, many responsibilities and obligations of caregiving are unpredictable. However, that doesn’t mean caregivers don’t get a vacation! How about a ‘staycation’? ‘Staycations’ have become a more economical alternative to a traditional vacation, but it’s also a perfect option for caregivers! You can be close to home in case an emergency comes up, but you can also get a break from the duties of caregiving.

Where you‘staycate’ can range from in-home to in-state, but it usually requires some creative thinking. It’s easy to get caught up in your daily routine, and miss the opportunities to change things up and enjoy the summer.

Here are some ideas for an in-home ‘staycation’:

Make ice cream sundaes!
Mix up some summer drinks and sit outside in the warm weather!
Have a barbeque with your friends.
Fill up a kiddie pool, and sit in the sun and soak your feet for a little while
Have a movie night in your living room, complete with popcorn and candy!
See if there are any outdoor concerts going on in your town.
Have a tourist day – pretend you are a tourist visiting your town for the first time!

Here are some ideas for an in-state ‘staycation’:

Look at a map of your state, and find one area you’ve never been able to explore before!
Contact your Parks Department to find any hiking trails or reservations you haven’t seen.
Does your state have wineries? Many states do, and it’s a fun distraction!
Visit historic sites in your state.
Go see a sports game!

If you’re looking for some more ideas, contact your state and see what activities they have!

Women in Caregiving

To celebrate Women’s History month, the Family Caregiver Alliance posted 27 facts about women in caregiving. It creates a great opportunity to discuss the role of female caregivers, and how women and men are impacted differently. According to AARP, 65% of women are caregivers, so despite some indications otherwise, the majority of women continue to be caregivers, and this fact holds true worldwide, with the FCA citing information from all over the globe.

All caregivers are affected physically by their experience, but female caregivers seem to especially feel the negative impacts of caregiving. The FCA post cites a study by Bowling Green State University that states there is an increased incidence of negative experiences reported by female caregivers. These negative experiences as well as the emotions involved with caregiving put women at a higher risk for other illnesses. According to the article, women who suffer from depressive symptoms are twice as likely to develop dementia or cognitive impairments.

Financially, the cost to female caregivers is insurmountable. According to the FCA and a Met Life analysis, 50-year-old female caregivers will lose $142,693 in wages, $131, 351 in social security benefits and $50,000 in pension benefits. Comparatively, men will lose $283, 716 in wages, social security and pension benefits.

More astonishing facts and figures about female caregivers can be found in the article here.

LTS Weekly News Roundup

Here are some recently published articles about caregiving, elder care and the long term care insurance industry. Hope you find them interesting!

Caregiving in the News:
NPR: When Caregivers Are Left With Nothing More To Give
The author examines the dual nature of being a caregiver, and she discusses caring deeply for your loved one, as well as suffering feelings of guilt and anger.

Huffington Post: 7 Tips To Help Caregivers Field Their Loved Ones' Toughest Questions
A slideshow with suggestions on broaching difficult topics with aging loved ones.

Elder Health in the News:
New York Times: Excercising an Aging Brain 
According to the New York Times, more and more retired people are taking classes and educating themselves in hopes of delaying or stopping the onset of dementia.

USA Today: Aricept Helps moderate to severe Alzheimer's too
A recent study has shown that Aricept can still help ease symptoms for people with moderate to severe Alzheimer’s. The study also revealed that combining Aricept with Namenda in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease was not much more effective in easing symptoms than taking Aricept alone.

Long Term Care Industry News: 
Bloomberg: Prudential Halts Individual Long-Term Care Sales 
Prudential has stopped the sale of individual long term care policies. It has not been the only company to do so, with others citing underestimating the number of claims as well as the cost of care or life expectancy.

Forbes: Long-Term Care Services: Forgotten By Most Presidential Candidates
Of five candidates surveyed, only President Obama and Newt Gingrich responded with views on long term care services.

Caregiver Stress Relief Idea: Gardening

Spring is right around the corner! Being in Massachusetts, we are looking forward to warm weather and we are even more excited about the increased opportunities for more caregiver stress relief activities. There are a lot of activities from taking a walk to going to the beach that allow caregivers to take some time for themselves and soak up the sun.

Gardening is one of these great summer activities, and it can be extremely beneficial for caregivers. A large part of gardening is related to having patience, which is also a crucial aspect of caregiving. Gardeners trust that all of their work will help their garden grow and blossom, even though they can’t immediately see the results. This delayed gratification is something that caregivers experience on a daily basis. Caregivers dedicate time, energy and money to their ailing loved ones, and frequently don’t immediately see the positive impact they are having. Gardening can help caregivers know that while they can’t see it, they are constantly positively impacting and bettering the lives of their loved ones.

Aside from teaching patience, gardening has been proven to reduce stress by decreasing cortisol. Furthermore, a 2007 study in Neuroscience found a bacteria in soil associated with increased serotonin production in the brain. Gardening decreases stress, increases happiness, and gives you an excuse to spend some time alone outside.

So, get outside and don’t be afraid to get some dirt on your hands!

Administration on Aging YouTube Channel

Today, everybody should take some time to watch the YouTube videos that the Administration of Aging has put up on their YouTube channel. They have documented the stories of multiple caregivers, from a widow caring for her mother to a couple caring for both of their aging parents.

As our last post indicated, we think it’s extremely important to document the stories and experiences of caregivers. This is the best way to increase awareness and understanding. The videos from the Administration of Aging do this, and give an opportunity for other caregivers to learn about what resources are out there for them and how other people have successfully fulfilled the role of caregiver.

Click here to see one of those videos about a couple caring for their aging parents, and you can find the Administration of Aging YouTube channel by clicking here.

NPR: A Caretaker's Conflict: Love, Resentment Collide

This week, NPR hosted a great discussion regarding the negative emotions of caregiving. On Talk of the Nation, John Donvan interviewed Sandra Tsing Loh about her recent article in The Atlantic. She is the primary caregiver for her father, and frankly discussed her feelings of resentment towards him, and together they held an honest discussion about the negative aspects of caregiving.

They address the complex relationship between feeling guilt, anger and resentment, and the lack of support for caregivers. As we’ve previously discussed in past blog posts, one of the biggest issues is a feeling of obligation. Many caregivers understand and appreciate that their parents took care of them throughout childhood, so it’s difficult for them to cope with the feelings of resentment and frustration they experience. This feeling is compounded by an unclear future as very few caregivers are able to gage how long they’ll be the primary caregiver for their parent.

The most touching part of the program was listening to a caller talk about being the primary caregiver for her mother. Mid-call, the woman began sobbing. Her mother had already passed on, and she was sobbing because of the guilt she experienced over feeling anger at her mother. It really reinforces the idea that these conflicting feelings of love and resentment are so intense that they last long after caregiving duties end. Even after the death of her mother, the woman was still struggling with these emotions.

This conversation did an excellent job of fostering honesty, and a caller even thanked the two hosts for giving caregivers permission to feel anger, resentment and guilt. Openly discussing these feelings without judgment is one of the best things a caregiver can do. These feelings are real, and it’s even more difficult for caregivers to accept they’re experiencing them when society is telling them it’s wrong to see aspects of caring for your parents as a burden.

You can listen to the radio segment or read the transcript here. We hope to see more honest, candid and judgment free discussions surrounding caregiving!