Caregiver Pledges, Rights & Commitment Statements

Caregiver inclusion requires deep cultural change that begins with awareness and education. As healthcare settings adopt family presence policies and embed the family caregiver voice in planning and decision-making tables, a formal pledge to caregivers can be a concrete approach to:

• Acknowledge caregivers as care partners
• Demonstrate an organization’s commitment to values of patient and family-centred care
• Communicate expectations of staff in supporting an empathetic, respectful and supportive environment for caregivers
• Articulate what caregivers can expect from the care setting and its’ staff
• Remove barriers to family inclusion in care planning
Posting a pledge in care settings is a visual reminder of the organization’s commitment and informs caregivers that they are visible, and valuable members of the care team – their voice matters.

Below are some examples of formal commitments to family caregivers that have been co-designed by caregivers and healthcare providers. The concept of pledges, rights and commitment statements can be adapted and implemented in any care setting.

The Caregiver Commitment Statement, developed and implemented at WoodGreen Community Services by the Cultivating Change project, articulates the principles and philosophy of care that caregivers can expect from WoodGreen. Implemented as a tool to accelerate organization-wide culture shifts that recognize patients and their caregivers as dyads, triads etc., the Caregiver Commitment Statement was informed by caregivers and WoodGreen staff and providers in a Caregiver Summit. The Statement is proudly displayed throughout WoodGreen’s locations and distributed in the form of badge inserts to recognize staff that complete the Caregivers as Partners eLearning training.

Rights of Family Caregivers, developed and implemented at Cornwall Community Hospital by the Embrace project, is a commitment from the hospital and its staff to ensure family caregivers are:

• Formally acknowledged,
• Actively encouraged and enabled to participate in care planning, and
• Supported in an empathetic, respectful environment.

Rights of Young Carers, developed and implemented at Cornwall Community Hospital by the Embrace project, recognizes that young carers often experience greater challenges in being acknowledged and valued as a caregiver and included in care planning. Complementary to the Rights of Family Caregivers, the Rights of Young Carers were co-designed by a group of young carers using youth friendly language to enable a culture of care partnerships that is sensitive young carers.

Tips to consider when adapting this change idea:
• Engage with caregivers and healthcare staff/providers to conduct a pulse check to determine what the current culture is within the organization
• Form a working group of caregivers and healthcare staff/providers to co-design a formal pledge of 5 to 6 statements that can articulate the values of the organization to support family inclusion and a culture of care partnerships
• Think of ways to present the pledge that easily convey the organization’s commitment to caregivers