The reach the process of ageing and disease has on people is not limited.

From children of affected persons to carer staff in residential homes, many individuals in our communities are shoulders tremendous burdens of care.

It is incredibly important that as a sector, a people, a health community that we train our eyes on those who are striving to bring comfort and do life with loved ones and residents with dementia.

Understanding The Scale Of The Situation

Medical experts say that when it comes to the statistics, the most common degenerative disease is dementia.

The scale of families and carers that are serving their loved ones who have the disease is at an all-time high and this trend is showing no signs of diminishing.

Academic studies have sought to give a voice to the carers.

As family members were interviewed, the information being uncovered pointed to the majority of family members feeling their lives were irrevocably changed since their loved one’s diagnosis of dementia.

Scientific studies are increasingly finding that family members who are intimately involved in the caring of their loved one with dementia are developing depression.

Investigating Triggers

An important angle that a 2018 study sought to investigate were the factors that contributed to the development of depression and the severity of that problem.

In uncovering the pertinent factors when it comes to the depression in caregivers, the health sector at large may be equipped with a focus.

In understanding the triggering factors of depression in caregivers, a focus may be established that can help organise resources, and support, for those in our society that powerfully need it.

The Study

Of those who participated in the study, a significant proportion was found to be suffering from depression.

Nearly 70% of carers looking after loved ones with dementia were found to exhibit depressive tendencies and scores in the range of depression.

Tellingly it was the specific insights from the study that may have an integral part to play in new carer policy.

It was found that the more advanced dementia in a loved one and the less support from other family members to the primary caregiver in the process of care, the higher the tendency and severity of depression.

Additionally, the study found that the older the primary-aged caregiver was and the lower their educational attainment was, the higher the likelihood of depression developing while in a caregiver role.

Shared Responsibility

The findings from this study not only speak to the role that the health and aged care sector has to play in protecting primary caregivers but also changes that should arguably happen in how we as a society view caring and responsibility.

Regardless of task whether it is caring for a loved one with dementia, parenting, working on a project or studying, humans are not wired to do things alone.

As humans, we thrive on community, support and connection.

How much more so should we be in collaboration with others when it comes to the emotional, loving and complex process of looking after loved ones with dementia.

Everyone needs and deserves support.

As a society at large down to our family units, it is in collective support and community that our carers should have defences against depression.

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These situations, while hopefully not common, do occur and they can be really challenging. Here are some ways that professionals, involved in health care, have approached managing agitated persons for the best outcomes.

1. Look for the signs

It can be helpful to notice and plan for someone’s mood when they are still in the beginning stages of their anger. Look for tense jaws, clenched hands, a less talkative person, a raised voice or tense posture. If you start to notice these things you can give yourself time to make a plan for how you are going to approach the situation.

2. Asking Open Ended Questions

Asking questions like, “How are you feeling now?”, “Why are you feeling this way?” or “How do you feel about it?” may allow the patient to ‘vent’ and open up about why they are feeling frustrated. Asking open ended questions, without judgment or sway, can help a patient tap into what they are feeling and what may be causing it. It also allows them the opportunity to feel heard and understood.

3. Breathe Deeply and Remain Calm

This cuch are they paying?

an be so tricky. Yet one of the ways to diffuse anger is to meet it with the opposite. If you work at remaining calm, you will be enabled to think rationally and deal with the situation. Through breathing deeply you may be able to keep your heart rate down which can encourage the body to be calm.

4. Use their name and show empathy

Using a person’s name can help them to feel focussed on and personally connected. If they have opened up about what is making them angry it can help to empathise. Would you feel frustrated in their situation? Responding with empathetic statements can help your resident feel validated and understood. “I understand how upsetting this must be for you, Margaret” and “John, I’m hearing what you’re saying, that sounds difficult to deal with.”

5. Dealing with ‘blow up’s and knowing you are not a bad person

When people get angry, they can sometimes become irrational and with that irrationality can come some very hurtful things. If a resident has lost control know that you are not a bad person, know that you are just doing your job and imagine the hurtful words bouncing off you. When a resident is having a significant episode of anger, sometimes it is best to be quiet and wait for them to finish. Of course it isn’t unpleasant but sometimes trying to interject or pacify can only fan the flame of their anger. After they have finished you can, in a calm and level voice, say, “I hear that you are angry right now, would you like me to come back?” Or “Can you tell me what you need?” or “Do you have some suggestions on ways to solve this problem?

6. Know your limits and ask for help

If a resident has been consistently angry for some time seek out your colleagues’ and boss’ opinion, advice and strategies. It is always easier to deal with difficult situations and challenges with the help of a support network. There may be more experienced staff in your workplace that have specific bits of advice for your particular situation. Asking your boss or suggesting to your colleagues that a training session on anger management could be a way for the whole staff team to learn and develop. Additionally if anyone is really struggling with a patient it is important to be open about that difficulty so that others can have the opportunity to support and brainstorm resolution strategies.

The post What to do when residents become agitated? appeared first on Autumn Aged Care.

What is burnout?

Deakin University psychologist Dr Michael Leiter explains burnout as a “reflection of fundamental challenges in life.” Working together Leiter and Maslach have found that the fundamental challenges contributing to burnout mostly occur in the workplace. They argue that the workplace is largely where people seek to fulfil themselves and seek core values. It is when those efforts fall short of our expectations and core values that the consequences of frustration can be immense.

What are the symptoms?

While the study of burnout is still in its infancy, Leiter explains that psychologists see burnout as a syndrome of chronic exhaustion, inefficiency, cynicism and people feeling distant from themselves and their core identity.

Psychologists see burnout as not just one issue rising to the surface but a few. They see the syndromes involved as being multiple, chronic exhaustion and acute stress disorders playing parts in how people are feeling.

How can I tell if it’s happening?

Dr Maslach outlines that, It happens when you’re backing off from what you probably once loved and committed to doing in working. “You’ve lost that feeling, you’ve lost that motivation, and you’re simultaneously feeling cynical about the work and bad about the work you are actually doing.”

Dr Maslach highlights that one of the compelling reasons triggering her to look into burnout is that people were asking for help. “I wasn’t starting top down from theory or model. It was a really particular kind of phenomenon that was causing people to ask for help.”

The more often someone is feeling the symptoms of exhaustion, stress and frustrations at work reinforces the likelihood that they are experiencing burnout.

What can be done about it? #1

Academics from the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health highlight that much is still needed in figuring out burnout and effective approaches to combat it.

“Interventions to tackle burnout vary considerably in content and the results are mixed.”

Additionally the academic team found that “Individual-focused interventions are not consistently sufficient to tackle severe burnout.” This arguably means that a multi-faceted approach to tackling burnout is an avenue that businesses and employees should seek to use.

Dr Leiter argues that burnout can be helped but the options are limited. He encourages employees to “maintain energy throughout.”

1. Pacing Your Activity At Work: this may help to avoid exhaustion.
2. Break Up Your Activity: Place activities at work you enjoy doing at intervals to provide rewarding points during your shift.
3. Pursue healthing things: Exercising daily, sleeping well (8 hours at the same time each day)
4. Prioritise recovery time: This could be a midday walk, a sudoku puzzle, a quick sketch, knitting, a massage from a friend and anything that takes your mind off work and is calming.

Looking Deeper May Help #2

Dr Leiter encourages people to “maintain fulfillment”. He argues that spending time figuring out your core values and personal commitments is an important first step.

Are you core values not being pursued at your work?

Do you feel distant from parts of your job that you initially loved?

Feeling trusted and respected at work is also a crucial part of work satisfaction. He also advocates strongly for the importance of maintaining good workplace relationships which he believes is one of the crucial elements to stave off burnout.

Asking yourself if you feel trusted and respected at work may help you navigate why you are feeling frustrated with work. Prioritising having a discussion with your boss, a trusted co-worker and a counsellor may be the difficult but rewarding first step to rejuvenating your passion for work.

Social relationships at work are crucial

Dr Maslach believes that having a network of support and friendship at work is vital for workplace health.

“One of the things we know from tons and tons of studies is that good, powerful social relationships are critical for long-term well-being and mental health. “[Seek] People who make life [and work] fun and who can give you advice. You’re there for them, and they have your back, too.”

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From activities that may need you to be physically fit to managing a resident that has complex needs, aged care work is both challenging and rewarding. For work that involves intimate care of a person, physically and emotionally, it is helpful for all involved that the heart, head and skills align. This so that our most vulnerable can get the best quality of care, which they need and deserve.

What do people working in the sector say?

Rosemary, a student who has been studying her Certificate III in Individual Support for aged care says, “You need empathy, patience, resilience and genuine passion because it’s a tough job. You must be honest, good at dealing with conflict, and prepared to speak up when things aren’t right to make sure your patients get the dignity and care they deserve. Don’t get into aged care if you’re lukewarm about it because in this sector you really need to care to succeed.”

Working and making a difference in aged care needs a heart that sincerely cares.

What do training experts have to say on aged care?

Training, an online platform for education courses nation wide, says that, “Taking care of the elderly or those with disabilities in the aged care industry may be one of the most demanding and challenging jobs within the health care sector. It also comes with many rewards and ample opportunities that can lead to a gratifying career.”

Do you have these traits?

Training talks about a set of skills that are incredibly useful when working in aged care. See if you naturally fall into some of the categories.

1. You enjoy looking for ways to help people
2. You want to understand why people are acting and reacting in a certain way
3. You like listening to others and asking questions to find out more
4. You generally just enjoy talking to others
5. You find yourself monitoring how people and friends in your life are going and thinking up ways to help

What are the duties and responsibilities?

It can be helpful to listen to experienced staff and training courses in aged care. When it comes to thinking about if you’re a good fit, it can be useful to know what a ‘day in the life’ of an aged care employee looks like.

1. Helping a resident through daily activities
2. Helping residents with their mobility
3. Helping to make food
4. Brainstorming and scheduling social activities
5. Housekeeping tasks: Vacuuming, cleaning and many others
6. Helping residents with personal hygiene needs, like showering and dressing
7. Being someone to talk to, a companion, a friend and emotional support
8. Sometimes being on your feet for long periods of time and generally always on the go

What skills are significantly important

Training highlights five different skill areas that aged care workers use frequently. Ask yourself the following five questions to see where you stand in these areas.

1. Are you service oriented?
2. Are you socially perceptive and want to develop that skill?
3. Do you like listening and helping people figure out what’s bothering them?
4. Do you like speaking and chatting with people?
5. Are you observant and can tell when someone is acting out of the ordinary?

Endurance is important

One of the lesser known elements of working in aged care is that while you don’t have to be the strongest, perseverance is key. Many employees speak of being on their feet for most of their shift, if you enjoy being on the go, then the fast pace of aged care may be for you.

Many dedicated personnel, who have been in aged care for decades, will say that while working in aged care is one of the hardest jobs they’ve done it is also the most rewarding. Coming alongside and serving people, that vulnerably and deeply rely on you, can be a steep learning curve but one that is incredibly rewarding and satisfying.

The post Helpful things to know if you’re thinking about going into aged care. appeared first on Autumn Aged Care.

What The Research Tells Us

Doctors and research papers have been coming to the same conclusions. There are concerns surrounding working the night shift and the effects on the body. Dr James Hamblin writes that “Newly discovered health risks of working night shifts keep coming out: higher risks of coronary artery disease, diabetes, weight gain, and some cancers.” Additionally the International Agency for Research on Cancer speaks of night shifts being “probably carcinogenic”. He explains that studies have shown that personnel who had worked a decade of shift work displayed cognitive decline years ahead of their peers that had not worked shift work. However, Dr Hamblin reminds us that these findings are from people who were doing shift work, i.e, bouncing back and forth between working nights and days. These findings open an approach to night shift work that may limit the negative effects being found. The key may be in consistency. Studies have shown that it the bouncing back and forth that may hold the key to effects on health.

Consistency

Dr Hamblin explains that the more that we learn about sleep, the more important consistency becomes. Countless studies have found that six to eight hours of sleep is optimal for an adult yet as Hamblin argues, so now is when you get that sleep. He explains that even if you must work night shifts, consistency can and should still apply. He encourages that night workers attempt to get their body into a 24- hour consistent cycle, even one that doesn’t link to the sun.

The science behind the benefits of a consistent sleeping routine are complicated but linked to chronobiology and circadian-phase shifts. Essentially, consistent sleep leads to the body releasing what is called melatonin which helps with sleep. Importantly, the International Agency for Research on Cancer stated that shift workers having a higher risk of cancer “may be explained by the disruption of the circadian system that is caused by exposure to light at night. This can alter sleep-activity patterns, suppress melatonin production, and disregulate genes involved in tumor development.”

Night Shifts Over A Longer Period Of Time

Consistency Of Sleeping Pattern During The Day

Dr Hamblin believes that if you are able to get into a consistent prolonged schedule of nights shifts, you will be able to create consistency in sleep through blocking out light with blackout curtains and filling your home with lots of light with lamps.

While the science isn’t finalised on this point, Dr Hamblin argues that it would be best to be on night shifts for a prolonged period of time, to stay consistency on night shifts for a chunk of time. This allows for the opportunity to get into a groove of consistency, sleeping deeply and routinely during the day with the help of blackout curtains and bright lamps to simulate following the sun’s cycle. Additionally, night shift workers are advised to eat at the beginning and end of their shifts, limiting energy intake between midnight and 6am. This would allow your circadian rhythms to reset and your body to release the right amount of melatonin at the right time for good and rejuvenating sleep.

Of course it must be said that night shifts are not ideal many of us. Night shifts can mean missing out on social gathering and leading a distant schedule to loved ones. Gratitude for night shift workers is most definitely an area that society in general needs to and should speak and act on.

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