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Background
People are living longer than ever before. Advances in medical technology, social support, and health care programs have increased life expectancy. Consequently, it is now common for people to live well into old age.
As people age, they usually remain in their home as long as they are able, often with support from health and community services and family members. Advancing age brings with it a variety of health concerns, in addition to any disability already present. Aging is accompanied by predictable changes in physical functioning and general resilience. Some conditions can be prevented. Others cannot be prevented but can be treated, resulting in better overall health and better quality of life.
Family members often feel unprepared to support their loved ones as they develop health conditions. Finding the right resources to help sort out the problem, altering house routines to accommodate changes, managing treatments and providing the most effective support and supervision for people with health conditions is often challenging.
Some health conditions can be difficult to manage. Handling multiple medical appointments and understanding the condition and treatment side effects are all issues that family members as caregivers may feel unprepared for. As a consequence, people can be prematurely relocated to nursing homes, resulting in loss of important relationships and likely diminishing quality of life.
Caregivers play a crucial role in supporting persons to age in place. Another important role that caregivers can play is making certain that Primary Care Providers have the information they need to make the correct diagnosis and begin treatment.
Who should use this toolkit?
This toolkit is intended to help caregivers support people as they age. It provides tools to help caregivers to understand common symptoms and conditions and will help caregivers to communicate with health care professionals, to advocate for care and to comfort the older adult, to keep older people active despite the development of health conditions, to prevent disability and discomfort, and to keep older people in their own home as long as possible.
What does the toolkit contain?
This toolkit includes information on several topics important to older adult health, worksheets for gathering information that will help primary care providers determine what might be causing an older person’s decline in health, and tips for supporting people with chronic health conditions. It describes normal changes as a person ages, common age-related health conditions, and advice for caregivers on working with healthcare providers, involving older people in medical decisions, and providing end of life care. This manual was designed for United States audiences, though much of the content is applicable internationally.
How should these tools be used?
The materials in this toolkit can be used to help family caregivers:
- Understand normal changes as a person ages
- Build successful partnerships with healthcare providers
- Advocate for older people’s involvement in healthcare decisions
- Understand end-of-life care needs
- Understand and communicate with healthcare providers about common signs and symptoms
- Support people with common age-related health conditions
Electronic copies of all the Information Gathering Worksheets can be accessed at: https://uwmadison.box.com/v/olderadultworksheets
Development of this toolkit
The Support for Older People Toolkit was developed by researchers and clinicians (Principal Investigator: Barbara J. Bowers, PhD, RN) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Nursing.
In addition to co-authors Bowers and Nolet, contributors to this toolkit include Ruth Webber, PhD; Anne Roll, PhD, RN; Eleanore Stumm, MS, NP; John Chesterman; Kristen Czarny; Bo Kim; Jacqueline Nelson; Kristin Pecanac, RN, PhD; Kelly Planton; Katie Stodola; Sigan Hartley; He Yu; Julie Wilmot; and Erica Schoot, MPA.
This toolkit was prepared as part of a project funded through the Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Nursing and Gill Family Foundation. The project was supported by the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) program, previously through the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), grant 1UL1RR025011, and now by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), grant 9U54TR000021. Additional support was provided by the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health’s Health Innovation Program (HIP), the Wisconsin Partnership Program, and the Community-Academic Partnerships core of the University of Wisconsin Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (UW ICTR), grant 9 U54 TR000021 from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (previously grant 1 UL1 RR025011 from the National Center for Research Resources). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health or other funders.
Please send questions, comments and suggestions to HIPxChange@hip.wisc.edu.
References
Mueller, A., Beach, S. R., Bowers, B. J., & Fields, B. (2022). Relationship between health care interactions and care partner burden. Families, systems & health : the journal of collaborative family healthcare, 40(2), 225–231. https://doi.org/10.1037/fsh0000675
Toolkit Citation
Bowers B, Nolet K. Support for Older People: A Manual for Promoting Health. Center for Aging Research and Education, UW–Madison School of Nursing. Madison, WI; 2024. Available at: http://www.hipxchange.org/toolkit/support-for-older-people_promoting-health
About the Authors
Barbara Bowers, PhD, RN, FAAN is an Emerita Professor of the UW–Madison School of Nursing and the founding director of the Center for Aging Research and Education. She conducts research with frail older adults in both community and residential settings. She is interested in how public policies, organizational practices and models of care delivery influence quality of care and quality of work life for caregivers. Her interest in work life quality for workers in long term care systems has led her to examine causes of staff turnover, the relationships among organizational structure, organizational culture, management practices, and care outcomes, and to explore ways to improve the effectiveness of staff development. Her work with informal caregivers at home has led to the development of tools to support caregiver decision making. She is currently on the boards of the Advancing Excellence in Long Term Care Collaborative, Capitol Lakes Foundation, and Metastar, and on the national steering committee of the Moving Forward Nursing Home Reform Coalition.
Kim Nolet, MS is a Research Implementation Manager at the UW–Madison School of Nursing. Her work includes workforce development strategies that support older adult health and well-being. Through research, outreach program development, and professional presentations, she supports long-term care providers’ efforts to improve quality of care. She helped develop the Geri-Res nurse residency program.