Caring for the Family Caregiver

This remarkable work reveals the plight of the family caregiver in chronic illness through the prism of communication. Examining the high cost and poorly addressed exigencies of the caregiver, including health literacy, palliative care, and health outcomes, Elaine Wittenberg, Joy V. Goldsmith, Sandra L. Ragan, and Terri Ann Parnell use an interdisciplinary approach in an effort to identify the impact of communication and its burdens on the caregiver. This team of scholars present 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. This volume presents a picture of the costs and losses for caregivers that go unseen and remain invisible for stakeholders in the healthcare experience. 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 writers 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, and palliative care and health literacy research to present the groundbreaking concept of the caregiver types and an innovative set of support resources to facilitate improved pathways to better care for the caregiver. Their engaging and rigorous writing style integrates the real stories of caregivers across the scope of the book connecting the reader with the people inside the pages and making the book essential for providers, students, clinicians, policymakers, and family caregivers alike.