Management of Chronic Illnesses: Family Perspective

This week I will focus on some of the barriers in which I face being a caregiver for a family member who has a chronic illness and other comorbidities.

Coming from a culture in which the concept of chronic illnesses doesn’t exist and conflicting beliefs of health care services, it is very difficult to manage, even for a person who has some knowledge of the U.S. health system. One of the major reasons for picking this career is the want to bridge this gap and to encourage awareness for a culture in which doesn’t understand what chronic illnesses is.

Caring for a family member in which has hypertension with a family history of other chronic illnesses such as Diabetes, as a nursing student, I feel that I still face many barriers in accessing care for my family member. Fortunately, one of the barriers that was discussed in class and in lecture was not one of them, living environment. However, one of the major barrier that we faced was the lack of referrals when speaking to the case manager. My family member was hospitalized and was discharged with no referral services for any follow up. I, advocating for my family member, and my knowledge had to seek out follow up services with a cardiologist, hematologist, PCP, and many more.

Another barrier in which I faced during the follow up services is the communication between all of these specialists. Medications were prescribed and the other professional would not have known this if it was not for me, as an advocate. I had to communicate for the reconciliation of medication for my own family member. Each specialist was concerned about their own treatment and it was not collaborative with my family member.

Besides all the healthcare barriers, I still face cultural barriers within the care that I provide for my family member. Medication adherence was a difficult one to overcome. All physicians emphasized the need adhere to medication; however, never asked to the reason for medication non-adherence.

These are the barriers in which I faced as a caregiver. Fortunately, with my knowledge and communication to my family member, I was able to manage this situation. However, for a person in which has no knowledge of the healthcare system, this family member would have fallen through the cracks during this process and possibly have been admitted to the hospital again.

This situation is a prime example of how the healthcare system can fail patients and the need for a good case manager to support the caregiver in the continuation of care.