The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine published a study not too long ago that stresses the importance of palliative care. In this study, the authors claimed that palliative care does a good deal toward helping to improve the quality of life in those individuals suffering from illness and disability. The study found that elderly individuals suffering from extreme illness had fewer negative symptoms and a better quality to their lives than those suffering from the same illnesses that did not receive any type of palliative care. On a surface level, this makes a lot of sense. To those of us who help care for an elderly family member, it is a really important thing to keep in mind.
Palliative care is a type of care that is centered around providing care for someone that is seriously ill or near the end of their life. It is often associated with hospice care. However, hospice care and palliative care are not exactly the same thing. Hospice care is a type of palliative care, but palliative care is not always a type of hospice care. In both instances, this care centers around helping those individuals that are suffering to have a more comfortable life.
If your loved one is in need of senior care or already receiving it, it’s important that you take a look at whether the care that they are receiving or are about to start getting is currently meeting all of their needs. There’s a good chance that they might be in pain or uncomfortable, and if this is the case, you need to think about whether or not their care could help alleviate these symptoms.
Sometimes, a lot of the discomfort that people experience occurs because of poor mental health. This can happen for many reasons, but in the elderly, one of the more common reasons is because they are lonely, bored, or both. Having a one to one, in-home caregiver can help your loved one to have an extra level of socialization. A great caregiver alone is not enough to help everyone in a palliative manner, but it can be a good start for some. We encourage you to always make sure that any caregiver that you invite to help your loved one get through the day is not only professionally trained, trustworthy, and reliable, but also is a good fit when it comes to their personality. When you go through a professional service, the odds of this happening move much more in your favor.
In many instances, families only pursue palliative care when a loved one needs hospice care. While this is a very important thing, and something that should not be discredited, palliative care can often be helpful in other settings beyond just the end of life. If you have an elderly loved one that is receiving senior care, even if it is just a few days per week of in-home care, there are benefits to be had from adding palliative services in with whatever other help your mom or dad might be receiving.
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