Nearly one in four families is involved in providing home care for seriously ill or disabled family members. They are the invisible link in our health care system and receive little recognition for their work. Home health care teams can provide anticipatory guidance to families as they are going through the four stages of caregiving. During each stage, they can help family caregivers identify their loved ones' caregiving needs and their own needs, and design plans to meet them. They can encourage them to build support networks and join support groups. Doing so may alleviate many of the problems experienced by family caregivers.
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