Research describes how families are affected by caring for sick loved ones

Episode # 96
Uploaded: April 25, 2012
Running Time: 02:50

CROWN: From the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, this is CLINICAL CENTER RADIO.

At the NIH Clinical Center, family caregivers play a critical role for the patients and the research teams. They are their loved ones' support system during their participation in clinical research studies. Many times, they are with the patients throughout the entire process, supporting them and maintaining all the home duties, such as paying the bills and child care. It can be stressful juggling act. Margaret Bevans, a nurse and scientist at the Clinical Center studies the effects of stress on family caregivers. In a recently published article she described the case study of a husband with cancer and the spouse who struggled to maintain balance.

BEVANS: She was the wife. She didn't have a lot of support. And then she had two other individuals she was caring for. She was serving as the caregiver for her mother and her father back in New Jersey. She was not going to have her friends around her for support. And she had her own health issues she was struggling with.

CROWN: According to Bevans, this story isn't uncommon. Whether a family is struggling with a potentially deadly disease or a condition that's not life-threatening, most family caregivers feel some stress over their role.

BEVANS: Feelings of guilt, fear, anger, and sadness are very common. They often use the word worry. They are worried or uncertain about things to come. And that, in itself, creates additional emotional responses like anxiety or even depression sometimes that we can see in our family caregivers.

CROWN: Bevans says the Clinical Center wants to make sure caregivers feel supported. They've actually designed a web site for family caregivers that offers information about specific resources, such as relaxation chairs and support groups, that are tailored towards helping them rest, relax, and take a moment for themselves.

BEVANS: The things that I could encourage them to do would be to connect with the providers in advance, to bring the family care providers into the discussions very early. And I would encourage them to have a support structure in place to understand where they can reach out. Then, I would encourage them to communicate.

CROWN: To learn more about the Clinical Center's caregivers resources, visit clinicalcenter.nih.gov/wecare. From America's Clinical Research Hospital, this has been CLINICAL CENTER RADIO. In Bethesda, Maryland, I'm Ellen Crown, at the National Institutes of Health, an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

Back to Clinical Center Radio