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Three new resources offer help for the millions of adult children and other relatives caring for older people. One is aimed at Alzheimer's caregivers, the second spells out the law governing nursing homes, and a third offers tips on becoming an effective advocate for a patient.

A huge audience could use the coaching: Almost 34 million Americans are taking care of a chronically ill person who is 50 or older, according to the National Alliance for Caregiving. Most caregivers are family members or friends thrust into the role with little knowledge of the patchwork of services available to help them or their patients.

Alzheimer's: One of the biggest challenges for patients with Alzheimer's disease and their families is that the type of care they need can change suddenly, says Laurel Coleman, a geriatrician in Augusta, Maine.

"I've heard many stories from people who have worked out a good situation, whether it's having someone coming into the home augmenting care or finding a nice assisted-living facility, and within a few months the [patient] needed more care than that place could provide," Dr. Coleman says. "Families really feel let down when they haven't had a discussion around what to expect as the disease progresses."

The Alzheimer's Association this month rolled out a Web site, Carefinder (www.alz.org/carefinder), which includes sections on planning ahead, care options, coordinating care, and support and resources. There also is an interactive tool that recommends care options for individuals and generates questions to ask when screening care providers or facilities.

As part of the interactive tool, the caregiver has to provide information about the patient's specific stage of dementia. If the patient's doctor hasn't provided enough details for the caregiver to do so, he or she can print out a form from the Web site for the doctor to fill out.

"Many people will not have seen this much information, and it can be very helpful to them," Dr. Coleman says.

Nursing homes: No matter the illness, if you have a loved one in a nursing home, a new booklet can help you better understand the rights of a nursing-home resident and family members. In the booklet, Eric Carlson, an author and lawyer who has worked as an advocate for nursing-home residents for more than 15 years, highlights "standard operating procedures" at many facilities that run afoul of the federal rules governing them.

For example, you may be told, "Your children can only visit during visiting hours." In fact, federal law guarantees the rights of family members to visit at any time.

Another opportunity to improve a nursing-home resident's quality of life -- the individualized care plan -- often is squandered, he says. By law, nursing homes are required to sit down with the resident and the resident's representative at least once a year to develop and update a plan.

But many families are quickly shuttled through such meetings, resulting in plans with boilerplate language about caring for needs and providing comfort, Mr. Carlson says. Instead, families could use those meetings to spell out the resident's preferences for when to wake up, go to bed, what to eat and so forth.

You can read an excerpt from the guide, "Twenty Common Nursing Home Problems -- and How to Resolve Them," at nsclc.org. An online copy of the 34-page booklet costs $7.95 and can be ordered at the Web site.

Caregiving: The Mature Market Institute, a resource center and part of MetLife Inc., recently published a guide, "Becoming an Effective Advocate for Care," a 20-page booklet with practical advice and a list of resources for those who have to deal with doctors, insurers and other medical providers on behalf of a loved one. Visit maturemarketinstitute.com and click on "Since You Care Guides," or call 203-221-6580.