How to Safely Assist
With Activities of Daily Living

 

The New York State Office for the Aging developed a six-session course called Caregivers Practical Help. It is designed especially for those individuals who provide care to their homebound elderly relatives and friends and who need practical information and skills to support their caregiving role.

The Pennsylvania Department of Aging, with the permission of the New York State Office for the Aging, adjusted the course for Pennsylvania residents.   The New Jersey Department of Health and Human Services adapted that version and put the information online. 

We provide the information below with grateful acknowledgement of their efforts.

The course was developed to be divided into six two-hour sessions. However, it can be used as a self-taught course at home. The overall objectives are to help caregivers:

  • Increase their understanding and knowledge of the aging process.
  • Understand the psychological and medical problems associated with aging.
  • Acquire personal care skills.
  • Identify and resolve common problems associated with caregiving.
  • Acquire a greater knowledge of community resources and their functions.
  • Develop and express ways to help themselves while assisting their elderly relatives maintain active and productive lives.

These objectives encompass the major theme of the entire program - namely, caring for frail older persons is a difficult endeavor requiring special skills and knowledge.

Three publications were used as resources in developing the curriculum:

  • A Model Curriculum and Teaching Guide for the Instruction of the Homemaker-Home Health Aide
    developed by the National Council for Homemaker-Home Health Aide Services, Inc., with a grant from the Department of Health and Human Services
  • As Parents Grow Older – A Manual for Program Replication
    developed by the Institute of Gerontology, University of Michigan, supported in part by a grant from the Administration on Aging
  • A Healthy Old Age: A Sourcebook for Health Promotion with Older Adults
    developed by the Center for Social Welfare Research, School of Social Work, University of Washington, with a grant from the Administration on Aging

The Program

  • The Psychological Aspects of Caregiving – In this session, participants examine the psychological problems associated with caregiving. These include stress, burn-out, emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and social withdrawal. A discussion of ways families can work together to relieve some of these problems is included.
  • Medical Problems of Aging – Basic information is provided about common chronic illnesses which may accompany or intensify with age, such as cardiovascular disease and organic brain syndromes. The focus on health problems that are age-related is balanced by the presentation of facts which show that most elderly persons remain active and well in their later years.
  • Age-Related Changes in Vision, Hearing and Speech – This session discusses, in detail, the types of vision, hearing, and speech changes associated with aging. The problems of communication that arise from sensory loss and illness are also reviewed. Practical suggestions on how to deal with these problems are presented.
  • Finding and Using Community Resources – Knowing when supportive services are needed and how to go about obtaining them is the focus of this session. Home service options for the frail elderly are discussed. Emphasis is placed on the complementary roles of the formal system and informal caregiver.
  • Personal Care Skill Development for the Informal Caregiver – This session provides advice and guidance to use in helping the elderly with personal care and homemaker tasks. Emphasis is placed on increasing the observation skills of the caregiver and on environmental changes that can improve an older person’s functioning.
  • What Does the Future Hold? – In this session participants examine and summarize the content of previous sessions. They describe their feelings about their situation and the results of participating in the program. Participants discuss possible strategies, such as asking for supplemental help from the formal system of service providers to decrease strain; forming an informal support peer group; advocacy for unavailable services; and investigation of structures which help fill service gaps.

 

The Activities of Daily Living commonly experienced are discussed in detail.

This list offers a glimpse into the scope of what is offered in this area.

 

  • The Bedridden Older Adult

    • Body Mechanics and Lifting
    • Positioning a Person in a Semi-Sitting Position, and on His Back
  • Elimination of Body Wastes

    • Procedure for use of bedpan
    • Procedure for use of urinal
    • Re-establishing Bowel and Bladder Routine
    • Ostomy Care
    • Infection and Contamination
  • Bathing and Grooming

    • Giving a shampoo in bed
    • Special concerns in providing a safe bath
    • Procedure for transferring to the bathtub
    • Shaving a man with a safety razor
    • Giving a back rub
    • Preventing Pressure Sores
    • Special Foot Care
    • Mouth Care

      • Caring for Dentures
      • Procedure for brushing teeth
      • Procedure for flossing teeth
  • Getting a Person Out of Bed

    • Procedure for teaching the person to sit up
    • Procedure for helping the person to sit up
    • Procedure for transferring a person from the bed to a chair
  • Making an Occupied Bed
  • Caring for the Ambulatory Older Adult

    • Helping a Person to Walk
    • Procedure and caution to be used with an ill and weak person

Also included:

  • Emergency Action Safety

    • Eight Steps in Emergency Action
    • Maintaining and Restoring Breathing
    • Emergency Care for Poisoning
    • Control of Bleeding
    • Foreign Body in the Airway
    • Care for Shock
    • Burns
    • Suspected Heart Attack
    • Convulsion (Seizures)

 

It can be difficult for a new caregiver to undertake these tasks for a their older family member. Finding help through services such as occupational therapy, in-home aide service, and/or adaptive equipment will greatly ease the burden of care.

To ensure safety of both the caregiver and the family member, training is needed for some activities. Hands-on training is always preferred. Why? Because there is a trained professional available to answer your questions and to watch you practice techniques. Tips and assistance can be given immediately to reinforce the learning. And, you are often able to meet other caregivers who are in your situation.

 

 

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