This section offers a variety of tools and resources that you may use:
"on the go" in your work with family caregivers
to enhance your own knowledge on family caregiving
The formats of these tools vary as they range from articles, to curricula to audio and visual files. We encourage you to search through the various subsections to identify the tool that accommodates your need and practice. Regardless of format, resources have been grouped into the following topic areas: Education and Training; Assessment; Respite; Driving; Transitional Care; Difficult Behaviors; and End of Life.
To access the information you are interested in, click on a link below to a specific entry. Alternatively, you may do an “Advanced Search” by keyword (see sidebar on the left).
Assessment
Caregiver Assessment: Volume I: Principles, Guidelines and Strategies for Change, Volume II: Voices and Views from the
Field
Report from a National Consensus Development Conference (convened by the Family Caregiver Alliance?s National Center on Caregiving in 2005) which explains the key principles and guidelines for caregiver assessment, as well as background information.
Caregivers Count Too! A Toolkit to Help Practitioners Assess the Needs of Family Caregivers
Based on the work from a National Consensus Development Conference (convened by the Family Caregiver Alliance's National Center on Caregiving in 2005), this toolkit equips professionals for developing and implementing an appropriate caregiver assessment process in practice settings.
Guidelines for Initiating Meaningful, Quality Home Visits with People Who Have Alzheimer?s Disease and Related Dementia
Strategies for human service professionals conducting assessments and other types of interviews with people who have dementia and reside in the community.
Source Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services
How to Try This
Translates the evidence-based geriatric and caregiver assessment tools in the Try This: Best Practices in Nursing Care to Older Adults series into cost-free, web-based resources.
Source Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing, American Journal of Nursing
Knowledge and Skills Needed for Dementia Care: A Guide for Direct Care Workers in Everyday Language
A dementia care guide helps direct care workers determine whether they have the skills they need to deliver person centered dementia care. It also helps supervisors, policy makers and others evaluate dementia care training programs
This video explains step by step how to assist a person bathe in bed. Offers tips on how to make the process easier and safer for the caregiver and care receiver.
Source YouTube
Caregiver's Guide to Understanding Dementia Behaviors
Fact Sheet offers insight on the causes of challenging behaviors, such as wandering, and offers specific tips for communicating with a person with dementia and handling difficult behaviors.
Caring for Adults with Cognitive and Memory Impairments
Fact sheet provides an overview of the caregiving experience as well as ten steps to develop a plan to caring for an adult with cognitive and memory impairment.
Leader's manual describes the methods for conducting an 8-week class that teaches family caregivers the basic steps for learning to relax, to control their negative thoughts, and to act assertively when necessary. Leader and participant manuals available in English and Spanish.
Website provides information on best practices and home safety for dementia care. It includes social network Home Safety-Virtual Care section that allows visitors to explore solutions to home safety and daily care issues.
A series of videos for professionals working with dementia
patients which help providers learn to spot situations, words, and behaviors that often lead to problems. Techniques are presented for solving problems and even preventing problems before they occur.
Source Oregon Center for Applied Science (available through HealthComm Interactive)
Driving
Dementia and Driving
Fact sheet discusses the many issues around dementia and older drivers. Includes tips on how to monitor driving skills of older drivers, strategies to reduce the need of driving and last resort techniques.
Evaluation and Management of Driving Risk in Dementia
Guidelines for the assessment of risk for drivers with dementia, from the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), provide key information to people with dementia, their families and health care providers.
Additional guidelines are available from AAN's website: www.aan.com/guidelines
Promotes older driver safety awareness, education, and practices through Area Agencies on Aging. Activities of the project include
providing information and materials on older driver best practices, developing a technical assistance peer exchange program, and conducting national training sessions on older driver safety.
Source School of Social Work at University at Albany, State University of New York (SUNY)
Burnout Among Caregivers
The video is an excerpt from Burnout Among Caregivers for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid. It offers insight on subjects such as caregiver burnout and family dynamics.
Source YouTube
Caregiver Depression: A Growing Mental Health Concern
Policy Brief discusses the factors contributing to high levels of clinical depression among family caregivers, describes barriers to treatment and promising approaches to alleviating symptoms, and
suggests policies to support family caregivers.
Caregiver Education and Support Programs: Best Practice Models
A report which describes five widely used caregiver programs that have empirical evidence to support their effectiveness. Includes information about how to obtain materials for these programs.
Trains professionals to lead education and support groups for caregivers of frail elders with chronic disabilities or dementia. Teleconference version, as well as a leader manual and participant workbook are available. Contact the Institute of Gerontology at the University at Albany, State University of New York (SUNY) for materials.
Source Institute of Gerontology at the University at Albany, State University of New York (SUNY)
Caregiver's Broadcast
A video from Ask Medicare highlights programs and resources that benefit and enhance the caregivers well being.
Source YouTube
Caregivers Count Too! A Toolkit to Help Practitioners Assess the Needs of Family Caregivers
Based on the work from a National Consensus Development Conference (convened by the Family Caregiver Alliance's National Center on Caregiving in 2005), this toolkit equips professionals for developing and implementing an appropriate caregiver assessment process in practice settings.
Fact sheet discusses depression and how it affects the vulnerable population of caregivers. Helps caregivers recognize the symptoms of depression and offers resources for its prevention and treatment.
Source The Copper Ridge Institute, affiliated with The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Caring for a Person With Alzheimer's Disease: Your Easy to Use Guide from the National Institute on Aging
This easy to use guide helps family caregivers understand and cope with the many challenges of caring for a person with Alzheimer?s disease. The guidebook begins with quotes from caregivers who were part of support groups at Duke University.
Caring for You, Caring for Me: Education and Support for Family and Professional Caregivers
Curriculum designed for professionals who lead groups and/or conduct educational or training programs for caregivers across disease/disability groups throughout the lifespan. Program Guide to help professionals lead the 10-hour program (five 2-hour modules) and a one-day Leader Preparation Workshop are available.
Source Easai, in cooperation with AARP, Interfaith Caregivers Alliance, United Way, Hospice Association of America, the Alzheimer's Association, National Alliance for Caregiving, National Family Caregivers Association, and Towson University
Chronic Disease Self-Management Program
Training and materials for facilitators and master trainers. Also available in Spanish and other languages.
Source Oregon Center for Applied Science (available through HealthComm Interactive)
Controlling Frustration: A Class for Caregivers
Leader's manual describes the methods for conducting an 8-week class that teaches family caregivers the basic steps for learning to relax, to control their negative thoughts, and to act assertively when necessary. Leader and participant manuals are also available in Spanish.
A comprehensive guide for family caregivers caring for older adults at home, this tool offers information on caregiving, physical problems, mental/social problems, and managing care. A plain-text version of the materials is available free online. Also available for purchase are workbook for personal at-home use and a presentation package with a CD-ROM of PowerPoint presentations, fully illustrated hand-outs, and a workbook (includes permission to reproduce and distribute the illustrated hand-outs).
Source American Geriatrics Society Foundation for Health in Aging
Eldercare at Home
A comprehensive guide for family caregivers caring for older adults at home, this tool offers information on caregiving, physical problems, mental/social problems, and managing care. A plaintext version of the materials is available free online.
Also available for purchase are workbook for personal at-home use and a presentation package with a CD-ROM of PowerPoint? presentations, fully illustrated hand-outs, and a workbook (includes permission to reproduce and distribute the illustrated hand-outs).
Source American Geriatrics Society Foundation for Health in Aging
ElderStay @ home Certified Home Caregiver Training Program
A training program for home care workers which includes class schedules, a teacher?s guide and course materials, along with 3 DVDs. Provides instruction for 4 levels of providers: Elder Pal?, Dementia and Alzheimer?s Training, Personal Care Assistant, Home Care Assistant.
Family Caregiving: State of the Art, Future Trends. Report from a National Conference.
The proceedings from a national conference hosted by the
National Center on Caregiving at Family Caregiver Alliance (FCA) which brought together key experts to discuss cutting edge research, explore effective service interventions and identify emerging issues that affect family caregivers and those for whom they care. It includes summaries of all presentations made at the
workshops: Caregiver Assessment; Workforce Issues; Caregiver Health; Diverse Caregiver Populations; Leading Edge Caregiver Interventions; and Integration of Caregivers in the Health Care System.
Helping Families Make Everyday Care Choices (for Providers)
Fact Sheet discusses the unique issues facing people with dementia and their families and offers professionals guidelines for their work with informal caregivers.
Helping Older Adults Search for Health Information Online: A Toolkit for Trainers
Free materials for professionals who work with older adults
to help them find reliable, up-to-date online health information on their own. Includes lesson plans, flyers and a short online video clip.
Source National Institutes of Health-Senior Health
How to Try This
Translates the evidence-based geriatric and caregiver assessment tools in the Try This: Best Practices in Nursing Care to Older Adults series into cost-free, web-based resources.
Source Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing, American Journal of Nursing
Just in Case: Emergency Readiness for Older Adults and Caregivers.
Resources that address issues specific to emergency preparation for older adults and caregivers. Resources include fact sheets, a video and a presenter?s guide.
Source Aging in Stride Prepared by the U.S. Administration
on Aging?s National Family Caregiver Support Program
and Caresource Healthcare Communications, Inc.
Knowledge and skills needed for dementia care: A guide for direct care workers
This guide identifies the knowledge and skills direct care workers need when working with dementia patients in particular, and it includes an appendix with notes for trainers and supervisors of direct care workers. The guide describes seven competency areas, including knowledge of dementia disorders, person-centered care, interacting with families, and direct care workers' self-care.
Medication Management in Assisted Living Facilities
Multidisciplinary presentation and case discussion with power point slides on a web site. Some of the presentation hold a specific caregiver focus and discuss the family's involvement in managing medications and difficult behaviors.
The presentations are from a geriatrician, gero-pharmacist, gero nurse practitioner and a family advocate. The case discussion includes all four experts.
Source Geri-Ed Programs at the University of Maryland Baltimore
Navigating the Care System: A Guide for Providers to Help Family Caregivers
Traces the development of the sometimes confusing array of programs and services in the U.S. health and long-term care system, and describes how service providers can help families pull the pieces together. Examines the challenges facing caregivers and offers a list of useful resources available to providers.
Provides evidence-based oncology nursing interventions for caregiver strain and burden that can be used in the clinical setting. Putting Evidence into Practice (PEP) cards summarize research on interventions. Website includes tables of evidence
and references.
A collection of videos, podcasts and articles about how personal support networks contribute to positive health outcomes for caregivers, seniors, people with disabilities, and those experiencing life challenges.
The videos shown on this channel are intended to educate patients, caregivers and health professionals about the various forms of neurodegenerative diseases.
Working with Your Older Patient: A Clinician's Handbook
Free booklet that introduces physicians, nurses, and other health care professionals to communication skills essential in caring for older patients and their families. Includes specific information
on talking with patients and families about cognitive problems.
Intensive training program teaches professionals and volunteers to help caregivers find meaning, purpose and value in the end-of-life caregiving experience. Provides participants with
training materials needed to implement an effective caregiver training program in their community.
Source Hospice Institute of the Florida Suncoast
Difficult Conversations about Difficult Decisions: Talking with a Loved One about End-of-Life Care
One 3-hour class for caregivers. Contact Family Caregiver Alliance directly for materials.
End-of-Life Choices Fact Sheets: CPR & DNR; Feeding Tubes and Ventilators; Holding on and Letting Go; Decision Making.
Provide information on the decisions that need to be made and the issues and emotions that caregivers face when caring for someone at the end of his or her life.
Physician Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST)
Tool for effectively communicating the wishes of seriously ill patients to have or to limit medical treatment as they move from one care setting to another.
Online training program with six modules that teaches professionals how to facilitate basic advance care planning discussions with patients and families.
Respite Services: Enhancing the Quality of Daily Life for Caregivers and Care Receivers
Online booklet that helps family caregivers assess their abilities and circumstances, encourages caregivers to use respite services and provides suggestions to make respite most effective.
Hospice nurses, social workers and other team members provide
pain and symptom management, advance care planning, and end-of-life care to patients who are not yet ready for hospice or have refused hospice enrollment. (Available only through Sutter VNA & Hospice)
A model of transitional care delivered by master?s level Advanced Practice Nurses (APNs), in conjunction with a physician, to elderly patients at high risk for poor post-discharge outcomes. The model of APN specialist transitional care includes comprehensive discharge planning and home follow-up to high-risk, high-cost, high-volume patient groups in order to improve postdischarge outcomes among this patient group.
Evidence-based educational guidelines for stroke survivors after discharge
An article in the June 2008 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience Nursing (Volume 40, Number 3) describes 39 comprehensive educational guidelines for stroke survivors and their family caregivers for the first six months after discharge from inpatient rehabilitation. In "Evidence-Based Educational Guidelines for Stroke Survivors After Discharge Home," Sharon Ostwald and colleagues explain that stroke patients are often discharged home soon after their stroke and that families are often ill-prepared for the full extent of caregiving responsibilities that are required. The guidelines were tested with 72 survivors and families during 1,150 home visits.
Hospital Admissions: How to Plan and what to Expect During the Stay
Written for family caregivers, this guide can help health care professionals to prepare patients and families for a hospital admission, whether planned or emergency.
Improving Care Transitions Projects from the California Healthcare Foundation (CHCF)
Provides information and links to the following care transition
projects funded by CHCF:
Coleman Care Transitions Intervention (CTI) pairs hospitals with community agencies in ten locations in California to support patients with specific tools and skills to take a more active role in their health care.
Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) uses a standardized medical order form for health care professionals to indicate which types of life-sustaining treatment seriously ill patients want or don?t want if their condition worsens.
Transitional Care for High-Risk Elders takes a proven approach for reducing preventable rehospitalization of high-risk elders and tests whether similar outcomes can be achieved using a lowercost staffing model (using registered nurses instead of nurse practitioners).
Next Step in Care is an online resource that provides information and advice to help family caregivers and health care providers plan safe care transitions for patients. Search through the online "Guides and Lists" to identify the tool pertinent to your program's need. Materials are also available in Spanish.
A checklist from the Centers of Medicare & Medicaid Services for patients and caregivers preparing to leave a hospital, nursing home or other health care setting.
A checklist from the Centers of Medicare & Medicaid Services for patients and caregivers preparing to leave a hospital, nursing home or other health care setting.
