Rajanala Alekya, Ramirez-Zohfeld Vanessa, O'Conor Rachel, Brown Denise, Lindquist Lee A
Division of General Internal Medicine and Geriatrics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA.
CareGiving.com, Park Ridge, IL, USA.
J Patient Exp. 2020 Dec;7(6):1130-1135. doi: 10.1177/2374373520921688. Epub 2020 Apr 28.
Family caregivers of older adults frequently navigate the health system for their loved ones. As older adults experience more medical issues, the interactions between caregivers and the health system can be fraught with conflicts.
To characterize the conflicts that caregivers of older adults experience with the health-care system.
A cross-sectional national online survey with open-ended questions was conducted among family caregivers ascertaining experiences with the health-care system. Qualitative thematic analysis was completed using constant comparative analysis and review by a third author.
Over a 2-month period, 97 caregivers completed the survey. Common themes where caregivers experienced conflicts were Difficulty With Accessing/Communicating With Providers, Delivery of Emergency Care, Disjointed Transitional Care, Unaddressed Clinical Concerns, and Financial. Caregivers reported needing to act as patient advocates in the conflicts with the health-care system.
Understanding the conflicts that family caregivers encounter with the health system provides potential targets for future interventions to combat the challenges faced by caregivers of older adults and ultimately improve delivery of geriatric care.
老年人的家庭照顾者经常为其亲人在医疗系统中周旋。随着老年人出现更多的健康问题，照顾者与医疗系统之间的互动可能充满冲突。
描述老年人照顾者在医疗系统中所经历的冲突。
对家庭照顾者进行了一项全国性的横断面在线调查，其中包含开放式问题，以确定他们在医疗系统中的经历。采用持续比较分析法并由第三位作者进行审核，完成了定性主题分析。
在为期2个月的时间里，97名照顾者完成了调查。照顾者经历冲突的常见主题包括：与医疗服务提供者接触/沟通困难、急诊护理、脱节的过渡护理、未解决的临床问题以及财务问题。照顾者报告称，在与医疗系统的冲突中需要充当患者的代言人。
了解家庭照顾者在医疗系统中遇到的冲突，为未来的干预措施提供了潜在目标，以应对老年人照顾者面临的挑战，并最终改善老年护理服务的提供。
