Caring for the Family Caregiver

Caring for the Family Caregiver examines the high cost and poorly addressed exigencies of the family caregiver in chronic illness, including health literacy, palliative care, and health outcomes, through the prism of communication. This book uses an interdisciplinary approach to identify the impact of communication and its burdens on the caregiver and presents four caregiver profiles: the Manager, Carrier, Partner, and Lone caregiver, each emerging from a family system with different patterns of conversational sharing and expectations of conformity. By synthesizing current data assessing the experiences of caregivers, as well as integrating the narrative experiences of a range of caregivers living through a variety of illnesses and their specific demands, the authors deliver an unflinching gaze at the journey of the caregiver. With an author team comprised of three health communication researchers and a nurse and health literacy expert, this volume integrates literature addressing caregiver needs and burdens, communication theory and practice, palliative care and health literacy research, and the real stories of caregivers. Caring for the Family Caregiver presents the groundbreaking concept of the Caregiver Types and an innovative set of support resources to facilitate improved pathways to better care for the caregiver, making it an essential resource for providers, students, clinicians, policy makers and family caregivers alike.

About the Author

Elaine Wittenberg is Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at California State University, Los Angeles. She is co-founder of the COMFORT Communication project, a national health communication training program funded by the National Cancer Institute. Joy V. Goldsmith is a Professor at the University of Memphis in the Department of Communication and Film. She serves as Co-Director of the Center for Health Literacy and Health Communication at the University of Memphis. Sandra L. Ragan is Professor Emerita, Department of Communication, University of Oklahoma, where she taught during the years 1983 - 2006 and also served as director of graduate studies and associate dean of the College of Arts&Sciences. Terri Ann Parnell is a nurse, a recognized health literacy expert, and an award-winning author. She is Principal and Founder of Health Literacy Partners LLC.