Ohio Department of Aging
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Publisher: Ohio Department of Aging, Older Americans Act Programs Division
Published Date: January 2000
Introduction
Caregiving touches the lives of one in four families. It may start with picking up a few groceries and escalate sharply after a hospitalization and continue on a rather circuitous course of more or less care over a long period of time. For each caregiver and care recipient dyad, it is different, yet very much the same, colored by past relationships and shaped by the fear of what may come. It sustains and comforts; and for caregivers, it can both exhaust the body and nourish the spirit.
What turns this mostly family issue into a public forum is the growing number of older, frail adults who almost always prefer to be cared for by their own in familiar surroundings. For this to happen, at least two systems need to be in place. First, the informal care system--somewhat loosely held together by spouses, daughters and other relatives, friends, neighbors and church families--may be initiated years before families link up with formal services. For some families, that linkage is never made for reasons as simple as being unaware, and as complex as pride.
The second system, formal or paid-for services, includes both those delivered in the home and community as well as the traditional health care services. These services may include personal care, homemaking, respite, adult day care, and home-delivered meals. Trends in health care, focused on cost containment practices like managed care, can create an additional layer of bureaucracy that further tests the resiliency of caregivers.
On a national level, plans have been made to support caregiving efforts in a much larger way than ever before through the National Caregiver Support Act. Pending Older Americans Act (OAA) reauthorization and budget approval, states will receive increased Title III-D funds to better address the needs of the caregiver. Learning more about the experiences of caregivers in Ohio will provide insight into developing strategies to support caregivers in the immediate future and beyond, with or without substantial funding.
To that end, focus groups were conducted throughout Ohio to gather the opinions of caregivers, service providers and case managers who were involved primarily with Ohio's Medicaid Home and Community Based waiver program. The report linked below describes the experiences of a select group of caregivers and may not reflect the same concerns of other caregivers, especially those who are unfamiliar with case managed formal care services.
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Ohio Department of Aging