ONS Connect - November 2008 - (Page 12)

Where Caregivers Can Turn for Support American Cancer Society (www .cancer.org): Wives and partners of men with prostate cancer may be invited to attend the Man-toMan group or meet separately in Side-by-Side groups, depending on locale. Caregivers also are welcome at Taking Charge of Money Matters, part of the I Can Cope Program focused on meeting the challenges of the financial burdens associated with living with cancer. CancerCare (www.cancercare .org): Provides free online and telephone support groups, assistance locating one-on-one support, telephone educational workshops, and online information for caregivers Gilda’s Club (www.gildasclub .org): Twenty-two clubhouses are located primarily in the eastern United States, and eight clubhouses are in development. Clubhouses provide a casual, comfortable environment for men, women, children, friends, and family to meet and learn how to live with cancer, whatever the outcome. Free support and networking groups, lectures, workshops, and social events are available for anyone touched by cancer. Northouse says that healthcare professionals are called on to support caregivers as they manage the stress of caring for a patient. interventions.” She also acknowledges the great deal of work that has been done by other ONS members, such as Drs. Barbara and Charles Given, who have spent more than 30 years researching interventions for caregivers of patients with cancer. Because nurses spend so much time with patients and families, they often have the opportunity to assess caregiver strain and burden and provide interventions. Laurel Northouse, RN, PhD, FAAN, ONS member and professor at the University of Michigan School of Nursing, says that nurses hold the key to determining novel approaches for supporting caregivers. Northouse says that the current goal of her research is to develop and test family-based nursing interventions, specifically the FOCUS program, to help patients and their family caregivers cope with cancer while maintaining their quality of life. FOCUS is an acronym for the core components of the program: family involvement, optimistic outlook, coping effectiveness, uncertainty reduction, and symptom management. Northouse’s research has included three randomized clincial trials to test the effects of the family-based program with patients with cancer and their caregivers. Two of the trials have been completed, and the third is currently under way. “The results of the first two trials suggest that both patients and caregivers are affected by the illness and that they 12 ONS CONNECT November 2008 http://www.cancer.org http://www.cancer.org http://www.cancercare.org http://www.cancercare.org http://www.gildasclub.org http://www.gildasclub.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of ONS Connect - November 2008

ONS Connect - November 2008 Contents Editor's Note Just In Lean on Me You Tell Us A Year in the Life-- Month Eleven Put Evidence Into Practice to Manage Caregiver Strain and Burden Web Connect Capitol Connection Caregiver Care New Technique Monitors Patients with NSCLC Calendar of Events Working for You Staying on Top

ONS Connect - November 2008

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