Family Caregiver Dementia Care

Nearly 132 million people will be living with dementia by the year 2050—a twenty-first century epidemic. Traditionally, care for these patients has been provided in a long-term care setting. However, care is often provided in community residential facilities and in the home by family caregivers (FCs). Burden is the chronic stress situation FCs are often placed in caring for these individuals. With little training and support in the role and few options for respite care, FCs are at a much higher risk for feelings of burden. A higher burden has been shown to increase the risk for elder abuse. To decrease feelings of burden and improve patient care and outcomes, nurses must evaluate FC needs, effectiveness of their care, the risk for elder abuse, and keep a finger on the pulse of virtual technologies and innovative training methods to support dementia FCs.