Family caregivers should be partners in caring when family members are hospitalized.

“An estimated 41.8 million Americans were caregivers of an older adult relative or friend in 2020.” (From “The Four Ms of an Age-Friendly Health System” in AJN‘s November issue.)

That’s an impressive number, especially when one considers that any of the caregivers themselves may be older adults with chronic illness.

Are we preparing caregivers?

We ask a lot of these individuals, especially given the many complex tasks they are asked to perform, often with little or no training. And that’s nursing’s role—ensuring our patients are discharged to family members prepared to provide the care needed.

As a nurse, I felt prepared to be a caregiver for a family member who was discharged after complex cancer surgery. I was astonished at the brief discharge instructions for managing the Foley catheter, drains, and eight different medications; then I was handed a manila folder of papers about each medication. It took me a few hours to sort out schedules for medications and flushing drains.

But what about caregivers with no health care training, or who may not have manual dexterity or see clearly, or perhaps lack literacy at the level needed? Unfortunately, many hospitals are under resourced—in teaching materials as well as in staff with the time to teach patients and caregivers.

New AJN series in collaboration with AARP.

November is National Caregiver Month, and as we have done for the past few years, we are debuting another series in our collaboration with AARP’s Public Policy Institute to provide nurses with information to help them better support family caregivers.

This new series of articles and videos developed by AARP and the Rush Center for Excellence in Aging and funded by the John A. Hartford Foundation focuses on helping caregivers ensure that, when hospitalized, their family members receive the care that addresses what matters to them. It focuses on the framework of “The 4Ms of an Age-Friendly Health System” (What Matters, Medication, Mentation, and Mobility). (You can find a podcast with the authors of this month’s article in our Behind the Article podcast collection.)

In their guest editorial, authors Heather Young, Susan Reinhard, and Terry Fulmer write:

“[N]urses have the opportunity to make a difference for family caregivers by engaging them, listening to their concerns and priorities, providing instruction and support, and linking them to the resources they need.”

Over the years, AJN has amassed a broad collection of articles to help nurses provide evidence-based information to teach caregivers various procedures. Each article has a “Tips for Caregivers” section (including links to instructional videos) that nurses can copy and give to caregivers.

You can access all the articles in the collection for free. We hope they help you better help caregivers.