Research demonstrates a significant number of carers identify obligation or lack of other alternatives as the reasons they undertake informal care. By utilizing critical discourse analysis, this research explores choice for informal caregivers in contemporary Australian social policy. Analysis demonstrates increasing shifts in policy toward choice in consumer-directed care, a feature absent for those who provide care. Familial care is a central pillar of Australian social policy, as it is in many liberal and conservative welfare regimes. Analysis reveals that these core social policies are fundamentally incongruent, with significant implications for individuals and social work practice.
ObjectivesThis study explores the intersection of marriage and caregiving amongst older spousal caregivers in regional Australia. Specifically, we address the research question: ‘How do expectations of informal care impact spousal caregivers in later life?’MethodsThese comprise interpretive qualitative in‐depth interviews in order to understand the lived experience of caregiving within the context of long‐term marriage.ResultsFindings highlight the complexity and diversity of marital relationships as the context of informal care. Individual and social obligations were evident in key themes, demonstrating how spouses automatically assume and continue in caregiver roles in later life.ConclusionCaregiving is an expectation of couples in long‐term marriages, regardless of the relationship quality and willingness to care. Normative expectations also impact decision‐making around future care planning and transitions away from home‐based care. These are important considerations for both policy and practice with older adults and their caregivers.
This paper illustrates how systems theory can be used in social work research design to understand the systemic issues associated with spousal care in rural Australia. Spousal caregiving is embedded within multiple formal and informal systems, including family, community, health and aged care practice, social policy, and social and cultural norms. It is therefore a complex phenomenon to explore in social research, with each of these systems interacting with and influencing other aspects of the care system. The purpose of this paper is to provide an illustration of a research design that explores this systemic complexity. The design is conceptually underpinned by the transformative paradigm; a critical approach that reflects social work principles of social justice. The methodology is based on an ecosystems approach to assessment, using multiple methods to explore interactions between systems of care at policy, practice and individual levels. This application of systems theory to research presents an innovative opportunity for social work research to reflect long-established practices of understanding complex phenomenon within its sociocultural context.
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