A family is considered as the most central and enduring element of an individual’s life. In most cultures, a health condition experienced by one of the family members is treated as a family affair, and each member ought to demonstrate responsibility by taking care of the person. Family members play a fundamental role in caring for people suffering from a wide range of illnesses that cause disability or inability of people to care for themselves. Some of the conditions that require close care and monitoring from members of the family include cancer, dementia, mental health, and psychiatric disorders, HIV/AIDS, in addition to other chronic conditions. Whenever one suffers from one of the illnesses that require someone to help, the family is usually the first source of hope. The speech aims at outlining the specific roles of family members in caring for one of them, the significance of family care, challenges involved, and how it can be utilized to maximize benefits.
Family care is an extension of the services that are offered at formal health facilities and should be encouraged for the many benefits attributed to it. Since patients suffering from chronic conditions cannot stay in the hospital forever, they are released to their families where their close relatives take over the responsibility of caring for them. The caregivers undertake different responsibilities depending on the type of disease, its severity, the instructions from their physicians, and their level of expertise. Family members need to comprehend their specific roles to improve the care services within the home setting.
The services range from simple tasks such as bringing the sick items that he or she requires to complete tasks that might require consultations from the physician. The basic function of a family member in caring for one of them is being a companion. Due to the stigmatization of some conditions, moral support from relatives is usually essential in the coping and recovery process. As such, close relatives must always be close and offer the necessary mental support to the sick. Encouraging the ill family members makes it easy for them to cope with their conditions and adhere to the instructions given to them by their physicians. Such simple actions but with great significance regarding home-based care include talking with the sick, including them in family functions, playing with them when possible, cleaning them and their items, and making them feel comfortable and happy all times. Caregivers are also obligated to be the link between the sick person and the doctor. Most of the suffering people are unable to communicate frequently with their doctors; hence, the roles are actively played by the caregivers. Some of the functions related to linking with the doctor include arranging medical appointments, monitoring and ensuring that the person is taking medications as instructed, calling to consult the doctor when necessary, and sitting in during appointments. Other critical roles that family caregivers undertake include physical therapies depending on the nature of the illness, and other medical interventions such as wound cleaning and treatment. Such functions depict the significance of home-based care and should be encouraged because they are vital in achieving the objective of treatment outside the formal health settings.
Home caregivers, however, encounter numerous challenges and need to be supported to overcome them. Research indicates that most of the family caregivers feel burdened by the works they do in regard to caring for their sick family members. Most of the caregivers dedicate their entire time on caring for the sick. Also, the caregivers face numerous challenges because of doing some tasks that they are not knowledgeable about, such as treatment of wounds. The problems can be overcome by putting in place specific measures to improve the skills and commitment of the caregivers.
Caring for a family member remains a significant component of the healthcare system, and more improvements are necessary to improve outcomes. One of the approaches that can be used to solve the challenges encountered by caregivers in a home setting is training the caregivers to equip them with relevant skills that are important in handling the sick. Such skills will make it easy for caregivers to take good care of the patients. Training community health workers with knowledge in different conditions will also be useful in managing certain health conditions within the home settings. Such persons work in collaboration with family members to care for the sick. Another approach to improve home-based care is introducing a plan to compensate and support the caregivers financially because they spend most of their time caring for the patient and cannot engage in other economic activities to generate money for themselves.
Based on the significant role that home caregivers play in caring for the sick, it is clear that there is a need to improve their conditions of work. Family members usually play critical roles that make the work of a doctor easy. Based on the points outlined, there is a need to empower them with pieces of training to acquire relevant skills. Moreover, they should be compensated because they dedicate all their time looking for the sick rather than doing other income-generating activities.