013. May 2022

Home care and care of dependent elderly people

Many families decide to take care of a family member who requires support due to their degree of dependency. Caring for an older person can be very satisfying, but at the same time, it is a role that can be exhausting. An alternative to the family home is residential homes, which are centres where older people reside temporarily or permanently due to their level of dependency that requires comprehensive care and attention. In many cases, the decision to move the person who requires care to a nursing home is difficult for the family due to the discomfort that the older adult feels when leaving their home. As a result of this context, and in response to the need to cover not only the physical needs of the person to be cared for but also the psychological and social needs, home care companies and services have arisen. Their purpose is to choose a caregiver trained to support and monitor the dependent older adult and his or her family, enhancing their autonomy and quality of life.

Carers play a key role, if not the most important role, in the great responsibility of offering the person comprehensive dependency wellbeing, understanding the needs and ensuring the best quality of life from home care.

Finding the ideal caregiver – what to consider

Before sharing tips, it is important to clarify that there are no general characteristics to discuss an ideal caregiver. We must take into account the particular situation of the family and the person to be cared for to select the ideal caregiver for that user because it will not be the same for another. This is why it is necessary to start with a comprehensive analysis of the needs and characteristics of the person to be cared for before looking for a home carer. This understanding will give us a solid basis to start a successful and satisfactory selection process over time.

However, it is possible to identify certain elements that make a person a good caregiver:

Values and principles: some of the factors that most influence the good performance of a caregiver are precisely intrinsic and attitudinal characteristics of the person, such as commitment, respect, dedication, professionalism and communication.

Experience3: on the other hand, and no less important, experience is identified as a key factor. The experiences and learning from your performance as a caregiver provide you with tools and resources for optimal performance. It will be essential to verify performance through work references.

Training: furthermore, an influential criterion is completing courses and/or specialised training in the field to increase the carer’s level of knowledge in their professional role.

Comprehensive home care system: monitoring

The care of an older dependent person does not depend solely on the caregiver responsible for home care. It involves comprehensive care and support by a comprehensive system. For the caregiver to perform optimally, he/she needs to be monitored and accompanied throughout the care, a team to access a professional consultation and support his/her integral development/training.

This is why it is necessary to prioritise:

• The initial and comprehensive understanding of the starting situation of care: assessment of the person’s needs.
• A thorough and consistent selection process to find the right person.
• Continuous, proactive and integrated follow-up with the health and social care system.

The rest of the links are affected if any of these key elements are missing. It is not just a matter of finding the ideal caregiver for the elderly but of having a consolidated system in place to achieve the highest quality home care.