Caring for Loved Ones at Home

Christine Hughes is a policy analyst at the Ontario Native Affairs
Secretariat.

This short, illustrated guide offers readers practical advice on how to
provide home care to family and friends. Van Bommel has written widely
in the fields of health and hospice care, management and staff
development, adult learning, and the recording of life and family
histories. The descriptions of techniques and skills in this book are
drawn from his own experiences of helping both his parents and his
grandfather to live at home until they died.

The book is indexed and contains an excellent glossary of medical
terms, descriptions of medical specialists, and common abbreviations
used on medical charts and prescriptions. Some of the topics covered in
the book include adapting your home and getting the proper equipment,
helping someone to move around, supported lying positions, using a
bedpan or urinal, hair care, bathing, medication, nutrition, adaptive
clothing, and making a bed.

Both caregivers and those being cared for would find this book of
interest. It is easy to read and includes illustrated step-by-step
instructions, lots of examples, and specific tips. People requiring care
may appreciate the suggested questions to ask their doctors about tests,
drugs, and treatment. There is also a section outlining how to assemble
a support team.

Caring for Loved Ones at Home fills an important niche as the trend
toward increased home care continues to be advocated by governments that
are looking for ways to reduce health-care costs.