When University senior Andrea Nowack helped a family friend care for her 11-year-old disabled son and her elderly mother, Nowack said she saw first-hand how caregiving can consume someone’s life.
“It was stressful just watching her,” Nowack said. “She was always busy and stressed out.”
Nowack said her friend wasn’t able to hold a full-time job because of the amount of time she spent caring for her son and mother, and was also married.
Nowack, president of Public Relations Student Society of America’s University chapter, helped the family for two summers with day-to-day tasks, including buying groceries, driving to doctor’s appointments and doing laundry. Nowack said it was difficult caring for the elderly woman, who had suffered a stroke.
“She was depressed and knew the situation wasn’t going to get any better,” she said.
Nowack joined forces with public relations students Nicole Wasowski, Jennifer Weber and Lindsay Whent to organize a campaign for the PRSSA Bateman Case Study Competition to promote family caregiving.
The University seniors persuaded the mayors of Eugene, Springfield and Cottage Grove to proclaim Wednesday “Lane County Family Caregiving Day,” and the students spread their message through advertisements, a public service announcement posted on YouTube and an hour-long expert panel discussion held last night.
Weber said that although family caregiving is probably an obscure topic for most students, students should start learning about family caregiving now.
“Your parents are part of the baby boomer generation, and they are the next ones that will be needing this care,” she said.
The baby boomer generation, which consists of those born between 1946 and 1964 and makes up the largest segment of the population, is expected to live longer than previous generations. The increased longevity of the baby boomer generation means that boomers will have extensive health care needs.
Carol Bradley Bursack, author of “Minding Our Elders” and an elderly care columnist for The Forum newspaper in North Dakota, said students should prepare now. She added that caregiving may “sneak-up” on younger generations, as it did when she cared for her parents.
“I didn’t have a whole lot to go on,” she said. “It’s much better if you have everything written down and planned out.”
She recommended talking to parents about financial planning, life support and medical decisions, nursing home choices, long-term care, funerals, family care planning, wills and estate planning.
“The list is endless,” she said. “It just goes on and on.”
Bursack said the topics weren’t easy to talk about with her children, who are in their 20s.
“I know it makes them feel uncomfortable,” she said. “They don’t like thinking about me getting old. They’d rather live in denial.”
Bursack recommended talking to parents gradually in sessions, instead of “one big heavy conversation.”
She said that showing them a news article about the topic is a non-threatening, impersonal way of opening the conversation. Once the topic is started, she said, students may find that parents are willing to talk.
“They’re getting what they want, and you’re not going to sit with all this stuff to do while you’re in grief,” she said.
JoAnn Coker, a family caregiving specialist for Senior and Disabled Services of Lane County, said that caregivers experience stress, isolation, depression and exhaustion.
Coker, who was an expert at Wednesday’s panel discussion, said that those who care for someone for more than 20 hours a week without regular breaks are six times more likely to become sick before whomever they’re caring for does.
“I think these caregivers have the hardest job that any of us will ever face,” she said. “It’s very unrewarding. Unless someone has been a caregiver, I don’t think they have any idea of what that person encounters on a day-to-day basis.”
Kevin Alltucker, a University assistant professor in the family and human services department who researches early childhood care, said American youth might not value their elders as much as those in Native American and Asian cultures.
“Other cultures honor taking care of their elders, and they respect and honor the wisdom of elders,” he said. “Sometimes in American culture, I think we could do a much better job.”
Nowack said she hopes the campaign helps raise public awareness on family caregiving.
“I was thrilled to hear that students are being made aware that elder care is a huge issue,” Bursack said.
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