Caregiver

A caregiver, carer or support worker is a paid or unpaid person who helps an individual with activities of daily living. Caregivers who are members of a care recipient's family or social network, who may have specific professional training, are often described as informal caregivers. Caregivers most commonly assist with impairments related to old age, disability, a disease, or a mental disorder.

Typical duties of a caregiver might include taking care of someone who has a chronic illness or disease; managing medications or talking to doctors and nurses on someone's behalf; helping to bathe or dress someone who is frail or disabled; or taking care of household chores, meals, or processes both formal and informal documentations related to health for someone who cannot do these things alone.

With an aging population in all developed societies, the role of caregivers has been increasingly recognized as an important one, both functionally and economically. Many organizations that provide support for persons with disabilities have developed various forms of support for caregivers as well.

A primary caregiver is the person who takes primary responsibility for someone who cannot care fully for himself or herself. The primary caregiver may be a family member, a trained professional or another individual. Depending on culture there may be various members of the family engaged in care. The concept can be important in attachment theory as well as in family law, for example in guardianship and child custody.

A person may need care due to loss of health, loss of memory, the onset of illness, an incident (or risk) of falling, anxiety or depression, grief, or a disabling condition.

A fundamental part of giving care is being a good communicator with the person getting care. Care is given with respect for the dignity of the person receiving care. The carer remains in contact with the primary health care provider, often a doctor or nurse, and helps the person receiving care make decisions about their health and matters affecting their daily life.

In the course of giving care, the caregiver is responsible for managing hygiene of themselves, the person receiving care, and the living environment. Hand washing for both caregivers and persons receiving care happen often. If the person receiving care is producing sharps waste from regular injections, then the caregiver should manage that. Surfaces of the living area should be regularly cleaned and wiped as well as the laundry managed.

The caregiver manages organization of the person's agenda. Of special importance is helping the person meet medical appointments. Also routine daily living functions are scheduled, like managing hygiene tasks and keeping health care products available.