With World AIDS Day on December 1st, I think it’s time that we talk about homecare for people with stigmatized conditions. This is something we cover with our caregivers, and something we consider when placing caregivers. We have caregivers of various backgrounds, as I’ve mentioned before, and we consider this when placing them with clients. Here is how we help care for people with stigmatized conditions.
Never Judge the Client
Sounds pretty basic, but it needs to be said sometimes. We never know why somebody has a certain condition or how they got it, but it is simply not relevant for our care. We’re never here to morally judge any of our clients, and frankly, their medical conditions don’t have any moral weight to us. That’s how the stigma is perpetuated; people think they get to decide what is good and bad, and they punish those who they deem bad.
Compassionate Care
You may think this is the same as my last point, but it isn’t. Not passing judgement is refraining from action, while compassionate care is something that our caregivers proactively do. We try to connect with our clients, and to help with whatever they need. This also involves listening to their concerns.
Education
We help with stigmatized conditions by educating ourselves on the conditions and their effects. An example is knowing that sudden changes in behavior, particularly aggression, irritation, and inappropriate comments, are a possible indication of dementia. Knowing this means that our caregivers can notify our office, and we can bring up their concerns to our clients and their families directly.
Overall, we are proud to provide care to all people at CareBuilders, and in honor of World AIDS Day, I wanted to talk about how we help people with stigmatized health conditions. Stay tuned later this week for more.
Written by Brigid Stakelum
