Professional Partners Supporting Family Caregivers - Phase I: Redefining Good Patient Care

Guest Editors:
Susan C. Reinhard, PhD, RN, FAAN, AARP Public Policy Institute and Center to Champion Nursing in America;
Ashley Brooks-Danso, MSW, National Center for Gerontological Social Work Education;
Kathleen Kelly, MPA, Family Caregiver Alliance

Lessons learned in this project are now being implemented in a recently launched Phase II of the Initiative.

In a first of its kind collaboration, national organizations representing nurses, social workers, family caregivers, and people age 50+ have released a report calling for a redefinition of good patient care to include those family members and friends who provide ongoing, often daily, care. The report is a joint endeavor of the AARP Foundation, the American Journal of Nursing, the Council on Social Work Education and its Journal of Social Work Education, the Family Caregiver Alliance, and Rutgers Center for State Health Policy (New Jersey).

The report:

• Argues that the relationships between and among nurses, social workers, patients, and the friends and family who care for them must change as Americans live longer and need more long-term care.
• Redefines best practices in the fields of nursing and social work as they concern caregiving for older adults.
• Argues for eliminating the barriers to engaging caregivers that nurses, discharge planners, and social workers face, such as lack of time due to heavy workloads.
• Outlines the knowledge and skills needed by caregiving professionals, along with an agenda for future research on family caregiving.

View the full report. To receive a hard copy of the full report, contact Rita Choula at 202-434-3840.