Caregiving

Video-calling loved ones is a wonderful way to maintain social connection during the holidays, as well as a way to virtually check in on others’ mental wellbeing and physical spaces.

November is National Family Caregivers Month. It’s a time to honor the more than 40 million caregivers across the country. While resources are available for these selfless individuals, a new AARP revealed that almost 1 in 10 said they had no one to talk to about private matters, and 1 in 5 said they had no one to call for help.

The pandemic changed the way we do everyday things. For caregivers, these changes may mean added stress and a need for resources and help. But did you know that military caregivers experience higher risks of poor health, strained family relationships, and a more immense financial loss than non-military caregivers?

A new AARP dashboard shows how Texas nursing homes are handling the coronavirus pandemic, which could provide state officials with useful insights.

From July to August, 15 Dallas-based AARP volunteers devoted their time to crafting an array of cards with messages of hope and encouragement for nursing home and assisted living residents.

Nearly 7 million Latinos in the U.S. provide unpaid care to an aging or older loved one. Many Latino family caregivers see caregiving responsibilities only as something family members do for one another and do not seek outside help.

Studies show that staying active not only benefits the body but the brain too. Physical activity helps improve blood flow and memory. It also helps reduce the chances of developing health conditions.

Austin Public Health, the city’s primary public health agency, released its new Long-Term Care Facility Dashboard. The tool displays an array of statistics, including the total number of cases and deaths associated with long-term care facilities, a splash of colorful graphs that show the cases for staff and residents by symptom onset date, demographic breakdowns of staff and resident cases, and a list of facility names in the Austin-area with the numbers of COVID-19 cases in each of those facilities.

In a Facebook Live conversation with AARP Texas Director Tina Tran, Alexa Schoeman of the Texas Office of the Long-term Care Ombudsman discusses how to register and cast your ballot in a long-term care facility in Texas.

The Rural Dementia Caregiver Project is seeking participants for a nationwide clinical trial to better equip rural caregivers with the skills and resources they need to manage stress, isolation and the demands of their role.