Imagine that a family member is accompanying a patient to a medical appointment. During the appointment, the physician provides the diagnosis of a debilitating illness. The family member begins to realize that they will now be thrust into the caregiver role.
Select from the following illnesses: cancer, traumatic brain injury, dementia, or severe mental illness.
Submit a 2- to 3-page paper in which you:
Mr. and Mrs. Chen live in an apartment in a suburb of a large city. Mrs. Chen was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis 15 years ago, and for the first 12 years, she experienced a relapsing and remitting disease course. During symptomatic periods, she battled fatigue, numbness, and a decline in coordination, but these tended to be short in duration and were always followed by significant periods of remission. However, over the past three years, Mrs. Chen’s symptoms have steadily worsened, and her mobility has sharply declined. Mr. Chen works for a delivery service company and juggles this job with caring for his wife and taking her to all her medical appointments. Mrs. Chen used to be employed at a grocery store, but she resigned when the amount of standing, walking, and lifting the job entailed became impossible. Mr. Chen has had to assume more work shifts to make up for Mrs. Chen’s lost income but finds it difficult to also transport her to all her appointments and be available to meet all her care needs in the home. He often feels overwhelmed and fatigued but doesn’t know how to reduce his workload. The Chens used to go to a ballroom dancing class with a group of friends on Mr. Chen’s day off, but Mrs. Chen is no longer able to dance, and Mr. Chen doesn’t know how to carve out the time. He explains that even if he could somehow find the time, it wouldn’t be any fun to go without his wife.
From this scenario, it is clear that multiple sclerosis has had a huge impact on Mrs. Chen’s life and functioning. But how have Mrs. Chen’s illness and caregiving responsibilities also impacted Mr. Chen? What kinds of support could a social worker offer to someone like Mr. Chen to reduce his stress and improve his quality of life?
In this Assignment, you examine factors that contribute to caregiver stress and identify community resources that can support caregivers.
Explain the thoughts and emotions the caregiver may be feeling at the time of diagnosis.
Describe the care needed for the illness you selected.
Explain the stress experienced by caregivers of patients with this illness.
Describe illness-related factors (illness complexity, chronicity, outcomes) that might contribute to this stress.
Describe system-related factors (access to care, insurance) that might contribute to this stress.
Identify at least three resources in your local area (county or state) that you might use to support the caregiving experience for the chosen illness. Explain how these resources might adequately support caregivers.
