Author Question: The nurse assesses a 77-year-old woman who has been caring for her husband who has Alzheimer disease ... (Read 38 times)

jace · **on:** Jul 8, 2018

The nurse assesses a 77-year-old woman who has been caring for her husband who has Alzheimer disease in their home for the past 8 years. The client complains of exhaustion and depression.

Which stressors should the nurse most suspect as the cause of this client's symptoms?
A) Marital strain
B) Caregiver burden
C) Spillover
D) Interfamily strain

Question 2

A client is fearful of being infected with the Ebola virus. To which reliable source of family risk reduction information should this client turn?

A) A report from the client's neighbor whose daughter was recently infected with the Ebola virus
B) Information the client's wife reported from a newspaper article about the Ebola virus that she read
C) Data from an Internet site that the client's daughter conveyed
D) A conversation the client has with his healthcare provider

lkoler · **Reply #1 on:** Jul 8, 2018

Answer to Question 1

Ans: D
Feedback:
Whether caring for an elder who is homebound or a child with a disability, caregiver burden has been well documented in the literature as a significant stressor on the family member who assumes primary responsibility for care. In most cultures, women (mothers, wives, sisters, daughters, or female in-laws) have assumed this role, usually by default. Caregiver burden is a significant issue for families because it can cause the development of physical or emotional illness in the caregiver over time. Marital strain is a term that describes how couples manage tensions and promote intimacy as opposed to create negativity (strain) in conflict resolution (Gottman, 1994). Defensiveness, criticism, contempt, and withdrawal erode trust in many relationships. Spillover describes the relationship between work and familythat is, requirements in different roles are similar, or fulfillment is sought in one role because of lack of gratification in others. Caregiver burden is considered intrafamily strain, which is the effect of stressors on families that make members less sensitive and loving to each other (not interfamily strain).

Answer to Question 2

Ans: D
Feedback:
Information the client gains from a conversation with his healthcare provider would be the most reliable, as the other sources are informal and secondhand. In informal settings, family members may receive inaccurate information about risk reduction, primarily because people interpret risk reports at their level of understanding (i.e., their own level of education or the level of information given). In fact, family members often hear ambiguous reports or interpretations about how someone became disabled or ill or died.