Workshop on Care for Care

Provider

Md. Azharul IslamLecturer

Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology

University of Dhaka

Lets take the role…

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWJ923FYvXs

• You are a care provider for the children of special need working in respite care home in your local borough.

• You are not specialized in providing any therapeutic interventions.

Objectives

• To identify health problems stem from caring jobs

• To identify potential hazards/sources of stress

• To understand the need of self care

• To share some tips and resources of self care

Why care for care provider?

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSbUd9QbbDc

“If you are travelling with a child, put on your own mask (oxygen) first, than the child”

Why care for care provider?

"Even the most dedicated workers need an occasional vacation, and this is especially true of caregivers. A burned-out caregiver cannot provide quality care.”

– D. Helen Susik, Gerontologist. Suncoast Gerontology Center, University of South Florida

HEALTH ISSUES OF CARE PROVIDERS

What are the health challenges care providers face?

Health issues of care providers

• Primarily excessive STRESS!• The prevalence of work related

stress in the year of 2011 and 2012 was – 428 000 cases, – accounting 40% of the total work

related diseases

• Other problems– Musculoskeletal disorders

• 163 cases per thousand people

(Labour Force Survey 2012)

Health issues of care providers

• Primarily excessive STRESS!• The most affected industries

and occupations

(Labour Force Survey 2012)

200023002600

27302340 2290

Reported cases per 100000 people

Health issues of care providers

• Primarily excessive STRESS!• Manifest in many ways

– Physical • Muscle tension• Headaches• Digestive problems• Changes in eating patterns• Sexual difficulties • Obesity• Diabetes• Heart problems, HBP• Breathing problem

Health issues of care providers

• Primarily excessive STRESS!• Manifest in many ways

– Psychological• Anxiety (i.e., worry, fear, anger,

irritability, guilt, etc.)• Depression• Lack of concentration • Memory loss• Difficulty in making decisions• Decreased problem-solving skills• Decreased ability to be flexible • Feeling of being overwhelmed

Health issues of care providers

• Smith et al. (2011) examined longitudinal associations between – care giving stressors,– caregiver depression, and – quality of care.

• Informal caregivers of elderly care recipients were interviewed at– baseline (N=310) and again– one year later (N=213).

Health issues of care providers

• Results: Care giving stressors

(i.e., CG physical health symptoms, CG activity restriction, & care recipient controlling and manipulative behaviour

Care givers depression

Potentially harmful behaviour

Quality of Care

Health issues of care providers

• Primarily excessive STRESS!• Manifest in many ways

– Behavioural• Nervous habits (pacing, fidgeting,

nail-biting)• Smoking, drinking• Crying• Yelling, swearing, throwing things• Blaming• Giving up hobbies or interests once

enjoyed, friendships and social connections (faith groups, clubs, etc.)

• Overeating, not exercising

Health issues of care providers

• Primarily excessive STRESS!• Sometimes co-morbid with

‘Compassion Fatigue’ and ‘Burn-out’ (Orlovsky, 2006).

Health issues of care providers

• Compassion Fatigue: – 1) A state of tension and preoccupation

with the individual or cumulative trauma of clients as manifested in one or more ways including re-experiencing the traumatic event, avoidance/numbing of reminders of the event, and persistent arousal.

– 2) The natural consequence of stress resulting from caring for and helping traumatized or suffering people or animals.

• Burnout: a state associated with stress and hassles involved in your vocation.

Group Activity

• What could be the potential reasons of these health outcomes in caring role?

Causes of STRESS in caring job

• Within the job– Workload – Repetitive work– Job environment (e.g., noise)– Management issue (e.g., career,

relationship with supervisor, co-workers, shift work, etc.)

Causes of STRESS in caring job

• Personal issues: Some irrational thoughts about caring role– I will “fix” the problem…

make everything O.K… save the world…

– I am responsible for outcomes.

– If I care enough, everything will be O.K.

– The sufferer/victim will appreciate everything I do for them.

– I will have enough resources (time, money, material, skills and training) to fix things.

Causes of STRESS in caring job

• Personal issues: Some irrational thoughts about caring role (continued)– Significant people in my

life will approve my absence from our relationship while I invest in this compassionate mission.

– I know what I’m getting into.

– I can do it alone.– If I’m spiritual enough, I

can deal with the stress of working with suffering people.

Dealing with STRESS

• We can deal with work related stress in two ways-

Inte

rven

tion Physical

Psychological

Dealing with STRESS

• Physical interventions– Physical Exercise– Healthy eating– Sleep well/Rest

– Evidence from American national stress survey (2008) indicated the effectiveness of the various interventions.

Dealing with STRESS

• Psychological interventions– Work on your irrational thoughts

if you have any– Seek professional counselling if

needed– Learn stress management

Dealing with STRESS

• Psychological interventions: stress management– The above physical interventions

can help in stress reduction– Be assertive,

• learn to say ‘No’, • seek support from others,• communicate clearly • be clear about your job role

Dealing with STRESS

• Psychological interventions: stress management– Practice relaxation techniques

• Stretching• Progressive Muscular Relaxation • Mindfulness

Dealing with STRESS

• Psychological interventions: Stress Management>Mindfulness – "Mindfulness is a translation of

a word that simply means awareness. It's a direct, intuitive knowing of what you are doing while you are doing it. It's knowing what's going on inside your mind and body, and what's going on in the outside world as well.”

– Professor Mark Williams (2011), Oxford University

Dealing with STRESS

• Psychological interventions: Stress Management>Mindfulness – Shapiro et al. (2005)– RCT: 8-week MBSR

intervention may be effective for • reducing stress and • increasing quality of life and • self-compassion

– in health care professionals

Dealing with STRESS

• Psychological interventions: Stress Management>Mindfulness – Benn, R., Akiva1, T., Arel1, S.,

Roeser, R. & Eccles, J. (2012)– Sub: Teachers and parents of

children with special needs– Intervention: Mndfulness Tr.– Results:

• Reduced stress and anxiety, • Improved mindfulness and

psychological well-being, and • Facilitated hope and gratitude in

both parents and teachers.

Dealing with STRESS

• Psychological interventions: Stress Management>Mindfulness

– Let’s do a very short mindfulness exercise….

– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fcdv0kFVMs

Dealing with STRESS

Smile

Sleep

Expectation

Relax

Treat your body well

ScheduleS

T

R

E

S

S

Summing up…

• Today we have discussed..– Various health issues associated

with caring job;– Sign and symptoms of work

related stress;– Potential causes of this stress,

and– Ways to deal this stress.

Resources

• The free Health for Work Advice line for Small Business in England - helps you to quickly and effectively address the issue of employee health, minimise the impact of staff illness, and provide essential support to staff with physical or mental health issues http://www.health4work.nhs.uk/

• Health and Safety Executive: Useful resources about workplace stress http://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/furtheradvice/wrs.htm

• http://www.mindfulnet.org/  is an independent mindfulness website that aims to provide  "everything you need to know about mindfulness in one place".

Question and Feedback

Questions?

Please complete the attached simple feedback form.

Thank You….

References

• Messina, J. J. (2010).Tools for Personal Growth. Extracted fromhttp://www.jamesjmessina.com/toolsforpersonalgrowth/irrationalbeliefs.html

• Orlovsky, C. (2006). Compassion fatigue. Prairie Rose, 75(3), 13.

• Pfifferling, J.H. & Gilley, K. (2000). Overcoming compassion fatigue. Family Practice Management, 7(4), 39–46.

• Stress and Psychological Disorders (2012). Health and Safety Executive, extracted from http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/causdis/stress/index.htm

• Salmon, P (2001). 'Effects of Physical Exercise on Anxiety, Depression and Sensitivity to Stress -A Unifying Theory.’ In Clinical Psychology Review, 21 (1) , pp.33-61.

• Stress in America (2008), APA

References

• Shapiro, S. L., Astin, J. A., Bishop, S. R. and Cowdova, M. (2005). Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Health Care Professionals: Results From a Randomized Trial. International Journal of Stress Management. 12 (2), 164–176.

• Smith, G. R., Williamson, G. M., Miller, L. S. and Schulz, R. (2011). Depression and Quality of Informal Care: A Longitudinal Investigation of Caregiving Stressors. Psychology and Aging, 26 (3), 584–591.