A Case Study On Improving The Ability Of Relative Caregivers Of Disabled Elderly

At the same time that Chinese population is aging,the number of elderly people with disabilities is also increasing dramatically.Disabled elderly groups have drawn social attention,and the caregivers behind them are increasingly in the spotlight.Caregivers of the disabled elderly generally include formal caregivers and informal caregivers.Informal caregivers generally refer to family members who provide care for the cared-for person without compensation,such as spouses,children and their spouses,grandchildren,etc.This study defines relative caregivers of the disabled elderly as caregivers who provide long-term care for more than one year and have blood or in-law relationships with the elderly.Home care has long hours and heavy tasks.Relative caregivers often feel powerless and are under pressure from many aspects such as physical,psychological,economic,and social.However,as an important force in providing care for the elderly,the dedication and sacrifice of relative caregivers are taken for granted,stress and pain are taken lightly or even ignored,and it is very easy to produce a sense of worthlessness.Compared with the caregivers of the healthy elderly,the caregivers of the disabled elderly feel more burdened and stressed.Social workers have accumulated a wealth of practical experience in the course of long-term service and formed a set of more mature practical operation system,who can provide relative caregivers with professional services.Capacity improvement is an abstract concept.This study defines the capacity improvement of relative caregiver of disabled elder as follows: 1.Improving the care ability,including that the relative caregiver can recognize and understand the status and diseases' development trend of the disabled elderly,and learn and master careskills;2.Improving the decompression ability,mainly the relative caregiver can master more ways to release stress,and actively use it to release her own stress.This study focuses on casework methods,supplemented by participatory observation methods and semi-structured interview methods,and provides a total of six services for client as a relative caregiver.The first service is to establish a professional relationship with the client,to understand the basic situation of the client with relevant scales,and analyze the problems and needs the client faces.The second service is to guide the client to learn about chronic alcoholism and mild cognitive impairment,to understand the symptoms and development trends of the diseases,and assist the client to explore ways to deal with her husband's alcoholism and tantrums.The third service focuses on guiding client to learn appropriate care skills and care methods and encouraging her to apply what she have learned in practice.The fourth service is to assist client to understand her own diseases,to learn and master relevant maintenance methods.The fifth service mainly involves social worker working with the client to explore suitable decompression method and encourage the client to use these methods to release stress.The sixth service is to evaluate the change of the client,discuss the closure of the case,and discuss the follow-up plan with the client.In this case,by guiding the client to understand the conditions and development trends of chronic alcoholism and mild cognitive impairment,the client has made psychological preparations for continuous care.Exploring ways to deal with her husband's tantrums has reduced the client's psychological burden.Assist the client to learn targeted care methods,enhance the client's self-confidence and ability to care.By understanding her own diseases and learning maintenance methods,the client 's own health level has been improved,which is conducive to her continued family care.By exploring and finding a suitable decompression method,the client's stress has been effectively released,and the psychological burden has also been effectively relieved.