Caregiving issues in the geriatric medical encounter

Families provide much-needed care for dependent older persons, which can be both burdensome and stressful. In addition to providing personal care, families often are essential for optimal chronic disease management. Thus, two critical functions of the medical encounter are to provide empathic suppor...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inClinics in geriatric medicine Vol. 16; no. 1; p. 51
Main Author Silliman, R A
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.02.2000
Subjects
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Caregivers
Chronic Disease - therapy
Family Relations
Female
Frail Elderly
Health Services for the Aged - organization & administration
Humans
Long-Term Care - methods
Long-Term Care - psychology
Male
Physician-Patient Relations
Terminal Care - methods
United States
United States
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Summary:Families provide much-needed care for dependent older persons, which can be both burdensome and stressful. In addition to providing personal care, families often are essential for optimal chronic disease management. Thus, two critical functions of the medical encounter are to provide empathic support to family caregivers and to provide education about chronic diseases and their management. Concomitantly, a conscious effort must be made to not compromise the doctor-older patient relationship, insofar as possible. Managing the doctor-patient-family caregiver relationship is challenging, especially in the settings of cognitive impairment and end-of-life care. In these circumstances in particular, both older patients and their families need the care of their physicians.
ISSN:0749-0690
DOI:10.1016/S0749-0690(05)70007-0