Patient Care Must Be Redefined To Include Family Members; Professionals and Advocates Pledge To Help Educate Family Caregivers

In a first of its kind collaboration, national organizations representing nurses, social workers, family caregivers and people age 50+ have released a report calling for a re-definition of good patient care to include those family members and friends who provide ongoing, often daily, care. Family members are very often not prepared to take on the task of caregiving-especially as many family caregivers are providing services typically reserved for registered nurses and doctors.

The report, State of the Science: Professional Partners Supporting Family Caregiving is a joint endeavor of the AARP Foundation, the American Journal of Nursing, the Council on Social Work Education and its Journal of Social Work Education, Family Caregiver Alliance, and Rutgers Center for State Health Policy (New Jersey).

Family and other informal caregivers provide the vast majority of the long-term care provided in this country. Yet the 44 million caregivers assisting those 18+ years of age tend to have limited preparation for the job and receive limited ongoing support even as their contributions to the economy have been estimated at $350 billion annually.