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College of DuPage Library

Care Giving Resource Guide

 

 

There are many excellent resources available for caregivers. This guide contains search tips and suggestions for accessing resources available through: the College of DuPage Library; local community and government resources; and national organizations committed to supporting caregivers and families.

The College of DuPage and the C.O.D. Library do not create or control any of these resources, and they will not be held responsible for misuse of information or any adverse effects of recommendations stated in these resources. Health Information should always be discussed with health care providers, who can interpret the information and apply it to a specific case.

Library Resources

  • Locate caregiver DVDs, VHS videos, books, audiobooks, and periodicals by searching the C.O.D. Library Catalog
    • Subject Searching: There are 36 subjects related to caregivers. Click on the desired subject to review available items
    • Keyword Searching: Try general searches like caregiv* or specify the type of caregiving by including a condition such as caregiv* AND alzheimer* or caregiv* AND parkinson*
    • The C.O.D. Library has an extensive collection of up-to-date materials pertaining to health and medicine. You can perform subject or keyword searches for specific diseases and conditions (e.g. Multiple Sclerosis, stroke, dementia or cancer).
  • Search our Health Science Databases for the latest journal & magazine articles and information on health-related topics. You'll need your library card to access our databases from off campus.
  • Access even more resources (print and electronic) via the C.O.D. Library's Consumer Health Resource Guide

Remember that the C.O.D. Library Reference Staff are available to assist you in finding what you need! You can call (630-942-3364), stop in, email or IM the main reference desk during open hours of operation. You can also contact the Health Sciences Librarian, Debra Smith, for confidential, personalized assistance.

Illinois County & State Government Resources

Caregiver Web Sites

  • Alzheimer's Association
    The Alzheimer's Association is the leading, global voluntary health organization in Alzheimer's care and support, and the largest private, nonprofit funder of Alzheimer's research
  • American Academy of Home Care Physicians
    Offers a directory of home care physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners by State
  • Assisted Living Directory
    Founded in 2005, this free directory is a resource "for assisted living and senior care, with extremely high-quality content, directory listings, and contributions from experts...with a passion for helping seniors, families, and caregivers"
  • The Caregiver's Handbook
    A complete online guide for caregivers of the elderly. It is often recommended for people taking care of Alzheimer's patients but can be useful for all types of caregiving
  • Family Caregiver Alliance
    Represents caregivers, describing their daily challenges, offering assistance, and supporting education, services, research and advocacy
  • Family Caregivers Online Report
    Review the latest statistics about how family caregivers utilize online resources in a report published by the Pew Internet & American Life Project
  • FCA--Handbook for Long-Distance Caregivers
    Links to a free PDF download of this useful guide
  • Home Safety Council
    A national nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing home-related injuries in all age groups from babies to seniors
  • MEDLINEplus National Library of Medicine: Caregivers
    This page can be accessed by searching the health topic caregivers. Categories on this page include: coping; research, specific conditions/aspects, law and policy, organizations, statistics and specific populations. There are also links to related MEDLINEplus pages as well as a pre-formulated MEDLINE search retrieving recent caregiving article citations from the medical literature
  • National Association of Senior Move Managers
     "A 501(c)(6), not-for-profit, professional association of organizations dedicated to assisting older adults and families with the physical and emotional demands of downsizing, relocating, or modifying their homes."
  • National Family Caregiver Support Program
    Useful information developed by the Administration on Aging (AoA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
  • The National Family Caregivers Association (NFCA)
    A constituency organization that addresses the common needs of all family caregivers
  • Parkinson's Disease Caregiver's Information
    The Foundation supports researchers; physicians; occupational, physical and speech therapists and psychological counseling. It also provides educational and medical information for Parkinson patients, their families and caregivers, neurologists and general medical practitioners
  • Patient Advocate Foundation
    Provides mediation and arbitration services to patients to remove obstacles to healthcare including medical debt crisis, insurance access issues and employment issues for patients with chronic, debilitating and life-threatening illnesses. Offers a Co-Pay Relief Program (www.copays.org)
  • Patterson Medical
    A medical supply online catalog that provides caretakers with visual and written descriptions of helpful devices and equipment available to assist with eating/food preparation, bathing, toileting, getting in and out of bed, transporting, etc.
  • Well Spouse Foundation
    Spouses and partners of the chronically ill or disabled find online support

Learn More

Our caregivers wanted to learn more about the following issues. Below are links to additional reading material shared by our members. The links provided are just suggestions for further reading--they are not intended to be definitive or comprehensive.

Click here for more Care Giving Resources for  C.O.D. Employees

Do you have additional caregiving resources that you'd like to share? Are you in need of one-on-one, confidential information/research assistance? Contact Debra!

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