UW School of Nursing: eCARE tool helps families care for seniors

CONTACT: Jennifer Garrett

(608) 263-5160


jegarrett@wisc.edu

Madison, Wis. — Coordinating schedules, arranging transportation and navigating complex medical, legal and financial systems—helping aging loved ones is often challenging. But when families are spread out across the state or country, and aging family members live in rural communities with few local supports, the stress can feel overwhelming. Keeping relatives with significant needs in their homes can seem impossible.

It doesn’t have to be. To facilitate better care for the elderly and better support for families and friends, the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Nursing is developing an innovative, interactive tool to put information and guidance at caregivers’ fingertips.

The tool is called eCARE. It is a project of the School’s Center for Aging Research and Education (CARE), led by Barbara J Bowers, PhD, RN, FAAN, associate dean for research and sponsored programs.

A personalized, responsive, web-based app, eCARE will connect caregivers and older adults with highly curated, evidence-based information and anticipatory guidance relevant to common challenges faced by older adults and their caregivers. One of the project’s priorities is addressing the unique needs and challenges of older adults in rural communities, where it can be difficult to access resources.

The demand for a resource like eCARE in all parts of the country is significant and growing. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, three out of four older adults live with multiple chronic health conditions, and two-thirds of older adults with long-term care needs rely exclusively on family and friends for assistance. Older adults prefer to stay in their homes as they age, but access to care from family, friends or neighbors is often necessary for that to happen. Research shows that reducing caregiver strain and preventing burnout can delay or entirely prevent nursing-home care for older adults.

“As a society, we continue to expect more and more from unpaid caregivers and, in many instances, offer no support,” Bowers says. “They are stressed, they feel like they’re not providing good care, and they desperately want more information.”

Nursing expertise and research, Bowers says, can offer the support and information that people need to provide quality care and to anticipate and prepare for likely future needs. That is exactly what eCARE is designed to do.

“We know there are common turning points and transitions in later life where older adults are at risk,” Bowers explains. “One of the strengths of the nursing profession is the ability and willingness to meet people where they are at any given point.”

While developed at the School of Nursing, eCARE will incorporate expertise from other fields, such as law, finance and social work, as well as extensive research on the aging process and families’ real-life experiences.

Betsy Abramson, deputy director for the Wisconsin Institute for Aging and member of the eCARE expert advisory committee, participated in early concept-development discussions. She says a tool like this is long overdue.

“I know from both my professional and personal experience how many challenges family members face in helping older adults and how overwhelmed we all feel,” Abramson says. “There’s the delicate balance between older adults’ autonomy and safety, many complex systems to navigate, limited resources, and lack of awareness about the resources that do exist. What the School of Nursing is developing will fill an urgent and growing need for many families, especially those in rural areas.”

Over the past year, the eCARE team developed and refined initial concepts. In the next phase, the team will build and test the app while pursuing partnerships and distribution channels. A national launch is planned for late 2018.

The second phase of development is possible thanks to support from the Margaret A. Cargill Foundation, which recently awarded the School of Nursing $1 million. The Margaret A. Cargill Foundation is one of three grant-making organizations within the Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies