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Summary
A caregiver gives care to someone who needs help taking care of themselves. The person who needs help may be a child, an adult, or an older adult. They may need help because of an injury or disability. Or they may have a chronic illness such as Alzheimer's disease or cancer.
Some caregivers are informal caregivers. They are usually family members or friends. Other caregivers are paid professionals. Caregivers may give care at home or in a hospital or other health care setting. Sometimes they are caregiving from a distance. The types of tasks that caregivers do may include
- Helping with daily tasks like bathing, eating, or taking medicine
- Doing housework and cooking
- Running errands such as shopping for food and clothes
- Driving the person to appointments
- Providing company and emotional support
- Arranging activities and medical care
- Making health and financial decisions
Caregiving can be rewarding. It may help to strengthen connections to a loved one. You may feel fulfillment from helping someone else. But caregiving may also be stressful and sometimes even overwhelming. You may be "on call" for 24 hours a day. You may also be working outside the home and taking care of children. So you need to make sure that you are not ignoring your own needs. You have to take care of your own physical and mental health as well. Because when you feel better, you can take better care of your loved one. It will also be easier to focus on the rewards of caregiving.
Dept. of Health and Human Services Office on Women's Health
Related Issues
- Adult Day Care (Administration for Community Living)
- Caregiving and Sibling Relationships: Challenges and Opportunities (Family Caregiver Alliance)
- Caregiving at Home: A Guide to Community Resources (Family Caregiver Alliance)
- Caring for Siblings of Kids With Special Needs (Nemours Foundation)
- Emergency Readiness for Older Adults and People with Disabilities (Administration for Community Living)
-
Getting Started with Long-Distance Caregiving
(National Institute on Aging)
- Guidelines for Better Communication with Brain Impaired Adults (Family Caregiver Alliance)
-
Long-Distance Caregiving
(National Institute on Aging)
- VA Caregiver Support (Veterans Health Administration)
-
What Are the Caregiver's Rights?
(American Heart Association)
- PDF
Specifics
- Brushing: Information for Caregivers (National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research) - PDF Also in Spanish
-
Caregiver Health
(National Library of Medicine)
- Caring for a Person Who Has Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
-
Dental Care Every Day: A Caregiver's Guide
(National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research)
- Dry Mouth and Older Adults: Information for Caregivers (National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research) - PDF Also in Spanish
- Family Caregivers and Transportation: A Few Survival Tips (Healthy Living Tips) (Administration for Community Living) - PDF
- Finding Low-Cost Dental Care: Information for Caregivers (National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research) - PDF Also in Spanish
- Flossing: Information for Caregivers (National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research) - PDF Also in Spanish
- Guide for Caregivers (National Multiple Sclerosis Society) - PDF Also in Spanish
- Hospital Discharge Planning: A Guide for Families and Caregivers (Family Caregiver Alliance)
-
Informal Caregivers in Cancer (PDQ)-Patient Version
(National Cancer Institute)
Also in Spanish
- MDA Guide for Caregivers (Muscular Dystrophy Association) - PDF
Statistics and Research
- Caregiver Statistics: Demographics (Family Caregiver Alliance)
Clinical Trials
-
ClinicalTrials.gov: Caregivers
(National Institutes of Health)
Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
Find an Expert
- AAAs (Area Agencies on Aging) & Title VI Aging Programs (USAging)
- Caregiver Action Network
- Family Care Navigator: State-by-State Help for Family Caregivers (Family Caregiver Alliance)
-
National Institute on Aging
Also in Spanish
Children
- Caring for a Seriously Ill Child (Nemours Foundation)
Older Adults
- Home Care (AGS Foundation for Health in Aging)
Patient Handouts
- Bathing a patient in bed (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Caregiving - resources - older adults (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Moving a patient from bed to a wheelchair (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Pulling a patient up in bed (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Turning patients over in bed (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish