Nannies and Caregivers need to be familiar with the variety of terms related to elderly care, healthcare, and caregiving practices.
Here are some key terms that caregivers should know:
1. Activities of Daily Living (ADLs): Basic self-care tasks including bathing, dressing, grooming, toileting, eating, and mobility.
2. Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs): More complex tasks necessary for independent living, such as managing finances, medication management, meal preparation, housekeeping, and transportation.
3. Personal Support Worker (PSW): A caregiver who assists with daily activities and personal care to individuals who are elderly, disabled, or chronically ill.
4. Home Care Services: Services provided in the individual's home to help with activities of daily living, medical needs, and companionship, often provided by trained caregivers or health care professionals.
5. Respite Care: Temporary care provided to relieve primary caregivers, allowing them to take breaks or attend to other responsibilities.
6. Palliative Care: specialized medical and supportive care for individuals with serious illness, focused on relieving symptoms and improving quality of life.
7. Hospice Care: Temporary care provided to individuals with serious illnesses, focused on relieving symptoms and improving quality of life.
8. Dementia: a general term for a decline in mental ability that serves enough to interfere with daily life, often characterized by memory loss, confusion, and changes in behaviour.
9. Alzheimer’s disease: The most common form of dementia, characterized by progressive memory loss, cognitive decline, and changes in behaviour.
10. CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation): Emergency lifesaving procedure performed when someone’s breathing or heartbeat has stopped.
Familiarity with these terms and concepts is essential for nannies and caregivers to efficiently communicate with healthcare professionals understand the needs of the individuals they care for, and provide high-quality care under Canadian standards and regulations.