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Care organising technologies and the post-phenomenology of care: An ethnographic case study

Care organising technologies are software applications that are intended primarily for informal carers, to help organise, document and coordinate caring work. These may be purchased privately or provided as part of state support. Take-up to date remains low. Based on empirical case studies of three such technologies and drawing on post-phenomenology and political science, we examined people's experience of caring when caring technologies find a way into their lives.

Wed, 08/05/2020 - 13:12

Self-compassion as an applicable intervention target for family carers of older adults: A conceptual commentary

Extract: Caring for an older family member can be a challenging and stressful experience, and there is a need to better support family carers in their role.(1) Drawing on a rapidly growing body of research conducted with various population groups, (2) there is reason to suggest that psychological interventions that target self‐compassion could be particularly relevant in supporting family carers of older adults.

Mon, 08/03/2020 - 15:59

Female family carers' experiences of violent, abusive or harmful behaviour by the older person for whom they care: a case of epistemic injustice?

Family carers affected by violent, abusive or harmful behaviour by the older person for whom they care face social and epistemic challenges in developing and sharing knowledge about their experiences. These difficulties have contributed to a situation in which there is a paucity of evidence and public discourse about how we understand violence and harm instigated by people who have care needs or are 'vulnerable'. This paper reports the findings of a qualitative study that involved 12 in‐depth interviews with female carers affected by violence, abuse or harm.

Mon, 02/17/2020 - 10:57

The Relationship between Resilience and Quality of Life in Family Caregivers of Patients with Mental Disorders

Introduction: In the past, patients with mental disorders were often isolated, but these patients now-a-days enter the society, as therapeutic interventions have advanced. Family members play an important role in the life of many adults with mental disorders and are under considerable amounts of stress that may affect caregiver's physical health, quality of life and resilience. Aim: The present study aimed to determine the relationship between the resilience and quality of life in family caregivers of patients with mental disorders.

Wed, 05/29/2019 - 12:54

Applying the convoy model to support in care situations

This article considers the future of informal care situations, with a special focus on how social networks can support caring. Noting demographic changes and the endemic need for informal support, we outline the convoy model of social relations for proactive planning and contemporaneous caring. The article is grounded in empirical evidence, including comparative findings from four countries and about caring among two uniquely vulnerable populations: latelife remarried couples and lesbian and gay adults.

Fri, 05/24/2019 - 09:19

Psychological distress, social support, and quality of life among cancer caregivers in Albania

Objective Drawing on the Stress Process Model, this study examines cancer caregiving in Albania. We used conditional process analysis to test the relationship between psychological distress and quality of life through social support and to examine whether gender moderates pathways in this mediation model. Methods Face-to-face interviews were conducted with a non-probability sample of 377 caregivers from the public oncology service.

Tue, 05/14/2019 - 10:16

Lost in translation? The challenges of measuring informal care among children and young people

This article uses data from the 2015 Young Life and Times and Kids' Life and Times surveys to discuss the methodological challenges of identifying young carers in surveys. The article considers how children's interpretation of 'caring' might not correspond with the definition of 'young carer' that adults wish to capture. This article discusses how prior consultation with young carers to improve understanding did not have the outcome anticipated.

Wed, 04/10/2019 - 14:32

Living with a parent with dementia: a family resilience study

The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with family resilience in families caring for a parent with dementia. A mixed-methods approach was followed to collect data from a convenience sample drawn from the Cape Metropolitan area in the Western Cape, South Africa. The study sample comprised 47 families in which adult children were caring for a parent with dementia. The quantitative data analysis was conducted using analyses of variance (ANOVA), Pearson’s product–moment correlation coefficients and a best-subsets multiple regression analysis.

Wed, 04/10/2019 - 12:19

Health effects of informal caring in New Zealand: longitudinal findings from the Health, Work and Retirement study

This study investigates changes in the mental and physical health of carers compared to non-carers over 10 years in a sample of New Zealanders aged 54–70. Mental health increased slightly over time for all participants but there was no difference in trajectory change based on carer status except for those who stopped caring. No significant differences in physical health or differences in trajectory change for physical health across time based on caregiver status were found.

Wed, 04/10/2019 - 10:29

A Kaleidoscope of Hope: Exploring Experiences of Hope Among Service Users and Informal Carers in Health Care Contexts

Background: There is a large and diverse literature on the concept of hope in health care. This literature covers a broad spectrum of perspectives, from philosophical, conceptual, and theoretical analysis through to attempts at measuring the concept of hope with differing health care users. Aims: To explore the concept of hope through the secondary analysis of existing data sets, with the intention of understanding hope in the context of person-centeredness.

Thu, 03/21/2019 - 09:46