Caring.com conducted a survey of more than 1,100 caregivers and learned that 61% of those caring for an aging parent or other loved one with Alzheimer's reported that the actual diagnosis came one or more years after symptoms first appeared. Furthermore, nearly 50% said that, once the patient was diagnosed, they were still unsure of the stage of Alzheimer's their loved one was in.
Caring.com's Steps & Stages helps caregivers navigate the overwhelming Alzheimer's journey, from identifying the stage of progression, to understanding which symptoms to expect and how to cope with them, week by week. This new tool also offers Stage Groups, where communities of caregivers whose loved ones are at a similar stage can connect online and learn from one another.
"Caring for someone with dementia can be such a difficult and lonely experience," said Andy Cohen, cofounder and CEO of Caring.com. The research backs this up with 49% of caregivers saying that their role as a caregiving for an Alzheimer's patient is their single biggest source of stress, ahead of the economy and their own health. "We've created tools to help caregivers reduce stress and find comfort in understanding what they're experiencing," added Cohen. "Steps & Stages is about what they are experiencing today, along with guidance about what to expect next."
To use Steps and Stages, caregivers begin by completing a brief Stage Assessment that Caring.com uses to create a Custom Care Guide. This Custom Care Guide and weekly newsletters then offer tips on how to handle different symptoms. As new symptoms appear, caregivers can update their Care Guide, and the information and advice changes dynamically.
The staging system was created in close consultation with Caring.com's senior medical editors: Leslie Kernisan, M.D., MPH, a practicing geriatrician and clinical instructor at the University of California, San Francisco, geriatrics division; Ken Robbins, M.D., a geriatric psychiatrist and clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin, Madison; and other experts, including Lisa Gwyther, MSW, associate professor in psychiatry at Duke University Medical Center and coauthor of The Alzheimer's Action Plan: A Family Guide.
Steps & Stages can be used today with the Stage Assessment, Custom Care Guide, and weekly e-mail newsletter. Additional community and content features will be added over the next few months.