Caregiver or Care Partner? What Evolving Terminology Means
Decades ago, when I began my caregiving life, I just did what I did. I’m not sure I was referred to as anything other than the daughter, the niece, or the mom, and I was too busy to care.
However, as my elders became more dependent I began to hear myself, at least in medical settings, referred to as “the caretaker.” Somehow, that word made me grind my teeth. My loved ones were not a patch of land. They were not a house. They were not an object. Yet the term “caretaker” brought such images to mind.
As the years went by, however, I slowly began to notice a change in terminology in the clinic and hospital settings. When I accompanied my loved ones to medical appointments, the dreaded “caretaker” was gradually overtaken by “caregiver.”
Yes! That made sense. Caregiving seemed to help restore dignity to the person for whom I cared while describing what I did.
However, with awareness comes change, and there is a new term we’ll all be seeing more of: “care partner.” Care partner implies that the person who is living with the disease and the person providing care are equal and that is as it should be. There are reasons why I don’t see myself using the term care partner exclusively in the near future, but I do expect that in my future articles you will see the term more often.
Why the term makes a difference
I first came across the term care partner in conjunction with Alzheimer’s disease. This, at first glance, would seem to be the last place where this term fits. People with Alzheimer’s need someone to take over their lives, right? The answer, of course, is nothing could be farther from the truth.
Most people who are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or any other type of dementia are just like anyone else with a diagnosis. They see a doctor because they have some symptoms, so, yes there are issues. But the diagnosis doesn’t immediately change them.
There is life after a dementia diagnosis, and that life isn’t any different from the day before, other than the person has had their health issue confirmed. What it doesn’t…
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Leslie Kernisan, MD, MPH, is offering two free caregiver training webinars to people who notice that their aging parents need some help now or will in the future. Sign up now to receive the free newsletter from Better Health While Aging and, if you choose, view two great caregiving webinars that can help you help your older parents (and yourself). Or you can go directly to the trainings page.
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