Supporting Families and Caregivers

Go to Course: https://www.coursera.org/learn/supporting-families-and-caregivers

Introduction

### Course Review: Supporting Families and Caregivers #### Overview In the realm of palliative care, addressing the needs of not just the patient but also their families and caregivers is paramount. Coursera’s course **"Supporting Families and Caregivers,"** part of the Palliative Care Always specialization, is an illuminating choice for healthcare providers, social workers, and anyone supporting loved ones with serious illnesses. This course delves deep into understanding the unique challenges faced by family members and friends of patients, with a particular emphasis on the needs of children and their caregivers. #### Course Structure The course is thoughtfully structured into five comprehensive modules, each designed to equip participants with the knowledge and tools necessary to support families and caregivers effectively. 1. **Course Introduction and Overview**: This introductory module sets the stage, explaining the significance of family support in palliative care. Learners are given a glimpse of the course’s objectives and the foundational knowledge necessary for progressing through the following lessons. 2. **Review of Palliative Care**: For those new to palliative care, this module serves as a gentle reintroduction to key concepts from previous courses in the specialization. It includes a recap of essential topics, such as symptom management and transitions in care, preparing learners for the specific challenges related to supporting families. 3. **Child and Family Guidance**: This module focuses on the often-overlooked needs of children who are affected by a parent's serious illness. Here, practitioners learn to assess children's emotional adjustments and gain insights into communicating difficult topics while preserving normalcy in family life. 4. **Supporting the Caregiver**: Understanding the caregiver's perspective is crucial in this course. This module dives into the complexities of the caregiver experience, offering practical tools to screen for caregiver distress and providing strategies to alleviate their burdens. 5. **Final Steps**: The course concludes with a reflective module where participants can consolidate their learning through peer-reviewed projects and a final exam, allowing them to apply newfound knowledge in practical scenarios. #### Key Takeaways By the end of the course, participants will gain critical insights into how to support families, especially children, during challenging times. This course not only encourages a compassionate approach towards caregivers but also emphasizes the importance of teamwork in palliative care. Learners will be empowered with strategies to foster communication, provide emotional support, and maintain a sense of normalcy for children facing the realities of serious illness. #### Recommendation "Supporting Families and Caregivers" comes highly recommended for anyone involved in palliative care or in supportive roles for individuals with serious illnesses. Whether you're a healthcare provider aiming to better understand family dynamics, a social worker looking to incorporate holistic approaches into practice, or a family friend wanting to be more helpful, this course offers invaluable insights. With its blend of theoretical knowledge and practical application, it stands out as a vital resource in creating a more compassionate care environment. In essence, enrolling in this course can significantly enhance your skills in offering critical support to families, ultimately contributing to the quality of care and life for patients and their loved ones.

Syllabus

Course Introduction and Overview

Welcome to Supporting Families and Caregiver, the fourth course in the Palliative Care Always specialization. This course takes a deep dive into the challenges families and friends of a patient with serious illness face and how you can care for and support them as a provider, social worker or family friend. Supporting Families and Caregivers focuses especially on the children of a patient with serious illness and their caregiver, and teaches you the best way to empower them to get the support they need. By the end of this course, you will be able to provide critical avenues of support for the people who are instrumental to your patients care, wellbeing and quality of life. This module will provide you with information on the course structure and first steps.

This module provides a review of the key concepts learned in the courses Essentials of Palliative Care, Symptom Management in Palliative Care, and Transitions in Care from Survivorship to Hospice. We realize that some learners are interested in only completing specific courses while others are moving through the entire specialization. The following videos are meant as a review for those who have not completed the other courses. You are not required to watch these videos if you feel you have a strong handle on the material. You can check your knowledge with the ungraded quiz in the next section and review the summary videos if necessary. Also contained in this module are the Sarah case study videos from Essentials of Palliative Care, Symptom Management in Palliative Care, and Transitions in Care from Survivorship to Hospice for those who want to review her story.

Clinicians can support families experiencing cancer by regularly assessing both the child’s adjustment and the parents’ ability and confidence in helping their children cope. Child and family guidance professionals can act as a resource. This module will review basic screening and assessment of child adjustment, and offer practical strategies to help families talk about difficult topics and maintain a sense of normalcy during serious illness.

In this module we discuss the caregiver experience in detail, learn how to screen for caregiver distress and provide advice to support caregivers.

Congratulations on completing the course content. You have a few more step to complete the course. First review your reflection, next complete a peer-reviewed course project and then take the final exam. We hope you have enjoyed the course and look forward to seeing you in other classes!