Caregiver Support
As the number of people living with Alzheimer's and other dementia grows, so, too, will the need for caregiving. Much of this is unpaid caregiving from family and friends. This can take a toll on caregivers' health, well-being and productivity — and place a growing burden on communities. This is particularly the case for dementia caregiving, which often entails prolonged and intensive assistance.
Communities face a growing challenge to:
- Improve knowledge and awareness among caregivers.
- Ensure universal availability and access to needed services and supports.
- Minimize fragmentation and inadequate coordination of care.
- Fill gaps that preclude equity in caregiving.
To learn more of what public health can do, see:
- Promoting Caregiving Across the Full Community: The Role for Public Health Strategists Action Brief (PDF).
- Supporting Caregivers Issue Map (PDF).
State-level and aggregated data on dementia caregiving from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System is available to inform public health action.
State successes: Supporting caregivers statewide
The Alzheimer’s Disease Caregiver Support Initiative through the New York State Department of Health is designed to support caregivers and people living with dementia in the community using evidence-based strategies Read the executive summary and full evaluation from the initiative’s first year.
As part of the Dementia Action Collaborative, the Washington State Department of Health developed and released the Washington State Dementia Road Map for Caregivers. This guide is designed to offer direction, explanation, and tips to help caregivers navigate the difficult journey of caring for someone with dementia.
The Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) created Caregivers in the Workplace, an online training module designed to educate supervisors within LDH about ways to support their employees who are also caregivers. The module also educated supervisors about the unique needs and challenges faced by caring for someone with dementia (view the virtual case study).
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