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Making the Link: Connecting Caregivers with Services through Physicians

A project of the
National Association of
Area Agencies on Aging

With support from the U.S. Administration on Aging

Making the Link: Connecting Caregivers with Services through Physicians, a project of the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a), brings together two distinct but complementary systems - the aging network and health care providers - to benefit family caregivers across the country. It is supported in part by a two-year grant from the U.S. Administration on Aging, initiated in September 2002.

Caregiving is a double-edged sword. While providing care for an older family member is often a rewarding act, it also takes a toll on the caregiver. Caregivers are known to suffer physical and emotional consequences as a result of their caregiving role. And when caregivers put their own health at risk, they may unwittingly compromise the critical care they provide for their older loved one.

A 2004 study conducted by the National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP found that 33.9 million Americans provide unpaid care to persons 50 and older. These individuals spend on average 20 hours per week on caregiving responsibilities. But research studies have also found that caregiving often results in increased stress, depression, illness, and even premature mortality.

Making the Link provides a strategy that engages physicians in identifying and assisting their patients who are caregivers. By becoming a part of Making the Link, physicians and their staffs learn about essential services available in their community to which they can refer caregivers. Physicians have enthusiastically embraced this program, and caregivers are reporting that they have heard about AAA caregiver services from their physician. These services are made possible by the National Family Caregiver Support Program and are provided by AAAs and Title VI-Native American aging programs across the nation.

National Family Caregiver Support Program services include:

  • Information about services;
  • Assistance in gaining access to supportive services;
  • Individual counseling, support groups and training;
  • Respite care to temporarily relieve caregivers of their responsibilities; and
  • Supplemental services, such as home modification, emergency response systems, transportation, and more.

More than 200 AAA and Title VI programs across the country are Making the Link participants. These agencies receive the materials and technical assistance that enable them to provide information about caregiving and caregiver services to their local physicians. Additionally, the following prominent physician groups and related organizations are working with n4a on a national awareness campaign on the health implications of caregiving:

  • American Academy of Family Physicians
  • American Academy of Ophthalmology
  • American Association of Medical Society Executives
  • American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine
  • American College of Rheumatology
  • American Geriatrics Society
  • American Medical Association
  • American Project Access Network
  • Families and Health Care Project, United Hospital Fund
  • Health Resources and Services Administration
  • Indian Health Service
  • National Alliance for Caregiving
  • National Health Council
  • Professional Association of Health Care Office Management
  • Society of Geriatric Cardiologists

What some participants have said about their successes with Making the Link:

"... being motivated to work more closely with physicians and helping us to see that physicians are the first link and the best motivator in getting caregivers to seek help."

"... doctors who are eager and willing to participate, who hadn't given much thought to the notion that caregivers are right under their noses, but often overlooked."

"Providing services to caregivers who have learned about what's available for them because of information shared with physicians as part of the Making the Link project."

"... having the enthusiasm of almost all of the physicians and offices that we contacted. They are very excited about having such valuable information to provide to caregivers."
 

For more information contact:

Adrienne Dern
Deputy Director
National Association of Area Agencies on Aging
1730 Rhode Island Avenue, N.W., Suite 1200
Washington, D.C. 20036

202-872-0888
adern@n4a.org
www.n4a.org