Family-Focused Care of Older Adults: Contemporary Issues and Challenges

Abstract

For many years, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers warned of the Silver Tsunami-an impending wave of older adults worldwide that was going to swamp existing resources and stretch health care systems to the limits (Das, 2015; McGregor, 2018). Although the increasing number of older adults globally will have significant impacts on current systems and programs, framing the reality of our aging population in such stark terms often comes across as ageist and stigmatizing. If we are to address the needs of a growing older adult population adequately, positive, strengths-based, and affirming approaches are needed. Enter family nursing and family-focused care. Family nursing has always understood the inherent, transformative value in family-focused care. When questioned, families and patients consistently point to outcomes within the domains of quality of life and well-being as having the most meaning and benefit during their illness journeys, domains in which nursing and family nursing excel. Fortunately, a family-focused, holistic approach to health and health care has garnered more attention and credibility over the last decade or so (Perez et al., 2018), with numerous studies demonstrating the benefits of patient-centered, family-focused, and integrated care (Fauth et al., 2019; Segelman et al., 2014). One cannot discuss novel approaches to the family-focused care of older adults at present without acknowledging the impact of technology on health and in supporting family care of older adults (Croff et al., 2019). As more older adults strive to age in their homes or with their families, the promise of technology to aid in this desire is appealing. Many opportunities exist to understand better how smart health technology can enhance the lives of older adults by exploring and addressing the potential pitfalls of the use of this technology (Pu, Moyle, Jones, & Todorovic, 2019). In this special issue, Koerner and Shirai's work (2019) provides insights into Latinx family caregiver's reactions and unmet expectations regarding their sense of receiving limited help from their relatives when caring for an older family member. They offer that telehealth and other technology-enabled support programs may provide a culturally congruent means to meet Latinx caregiver's needs for psychological and emotional support. However, challenges remain and

Implementation of the Family Care Model for Elderly Healthy

“…When asked, families and patients consistently stated that outcomes in quality of life and well-being were the most meaningful and beneficial during their illness, in which nursing and family nursing excelled. Holistic, family-focused approaches to health and healthcare have gained more attention and credibility over the past decade or so [11], with many studies demonstrating the benefits of patient-centered, familyfocused, and family-focused approaches. And integrated care [12].…”

“…This includes recognition of diverse family structures. The impact of intersectional identities on the health of older adults is receiving more attention as researchers seek to understand what causes us to experience health disparities that occur based on racial, ethnic, and sexual/gender minorities [11], [14].…”

Family-Centred Practice in a Rehabilitation Setting

“…Family-centred practice within the healthcare setting has an important role to play in tackling a rapidly increasing population of older adults (Anderson & Rose, 2019). Person-and family-centred care (PFCC) involves four key aspects: (i) dignity and respect; (ii) participation; (iii) information sharing; and (iv) collaboration (Giosa, Holyoke, & Stolee, 2019).…”

“…Some of the preferences for family-centred care are associated with socioeconomic status and culture (Chang & Yu, 2013;Anderson & Rose, 2019). In New Zealand, there are strong suggestions that Mäori clients particularly value family-centred care (Martin, 2018).…”