Caring for our carers: An international perspective on policy developments in the UK

Yeandle, Sue

doi:10.1111/j.2050-5876.2016.00896.x

Cited by 25 publications

(26 citation statements)

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“…Our findings suggest the need for a paradigm shift in which caregiving is reframed away from the current 'burden of care' approach, and towards a focus on sustainability and resiliency. This shift is important given the increasing reliance on FCs to deliver health and social care in the community and in response to advocacy organizations' calls for caregiving work to become more sustainable [62][63][64].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The care capacity goals of family carers and the role of technology in achieving them

et al. 2020

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Background: As global populations age, governments have come to rely heavily on family carers (FCs) to care for older adults and reduce the demands made of formal health and social care systems. Under increasing pressure, sustainability of FC's unpaid care work has become a pressing issue. Using qualitative data, this paper explores FCs' care-related work goals, and describes how those goals do, or do not, link to technology. Methods: We employed a sequential mixed-method approach using focus groups followed by an online survey about FCs' goals. We held 10 focus groups and recruited 25 FCs through a mix of convenience and snowball sampling strategies. Carer organizations helped us recruit 599 FCs from across Canada to complete an online survey. Participants' responses to an open-ended question in the survey were included in our qualitative analysis. An inductive approach was employed using qualitative thematic content analysis methods to examine and interpret the resulting data. We used NVIVO 12 software for data analysis. Results: We identified two care quality improvement goals of FCs providing care to older adults: enhancing and safeguarding their caregiving capacity. To enhance their capacity to care, FCs sought: 1) foreknowledge about their care recipients' changing condition, and 2) improved navigation of existing support systems. To safeguard their own wellbeing, and so to preserve their capacity to care, FCs sought to develop coping strategies as well as opportunities for mentorship and socialization. Conclusions: We conclude that a paradigm shift is needed to reframe caregiving from a current deficit frame focused on failures and limitations (burden of care) towards a more empowering frame (sustainability and resiliency). The fact that FCs are seeking strategies to enhance and safeguard their capacities to provide care means they are approaching their unpaid care work from the perspective of resilience. Their goals and technology suggestions imply a shift from understanding care as a source of 'burden' towards a more 'resilient' and 'sustainable' model of caregiving. Our case study findings show that technology can assist in fostering this resiliency but that it may well be limited to the role of an intermediary that connects FCs to information, supports and peers.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The care capacity goals of family carers and the role of technology in achieving them

et al. 2020

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“…However, recent research has been extended to include many other countries (Carmichael and Charles 2003; Gautun and Hagen 2010; Heitmueller and Inglis 2007; Jakobsson et al 2013; Kalmijn and Saraceno 2008; Kotsadam 2011; Lilly et al 2007; Mehdizadeh 2015; Naldini et al 2014; Viitanen 2007). Research shows that the need to care for older parents can result in care-giving adult children either dropping out of the labour market or reducing work participation by cutting down on working hours (Carers UK 2016; Kotsadam 2011; Pavalko and Artis 1997; Phillips 1994; Wolf and Soldo 1994), taking days off (Jenson and Jacobzone 2000) or lessening their focus at work (Carers UK 2016; Jenson and Jacobzone 2000; Pavalko and Henderson 2006; Yeandle et al 2007). …”

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Caring too much? Lack of public services to older people reduces attendance at work among their children

Gautun

Bratt

2016

Eur J Ageing

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The need to provide care for older people can put a strain on their adult children, potentially interfering with their work attendance. We tested the hypothesis that public care for older people (nursing homes or home care services) would moderate the association between having an older parent in need of care and reduced work attendance among the adult children. The analysis used data from a survey of Norwegian employees aged 45–65 (N = 529). Institutional care for older people in need of care (i.e. nursing homes) was associated with improved work attendance among their children—their daughters in particular. Data also indicated a moderating effect: the link between the parents’ reduced health and reduced work attendance among the children was weaker if the parent lived in a nursing home. However, the results were very different for home-based care: data indicated no positive effects on adult children’s work attendance when parents received non-institutionalised care of this kind. Overall, the results suggest that extending public care service to older people can improve their children’s ability to combine work with care for parents. However, this effect seems to require the high level of care commonly provided by nursing homes. Thus, the current trend towards de-institutionalising care in Europe (and Norway in particular) might hamper work attendance among care-giving adult children, women in particular. Home care services to older people probably need to be extended if they are intended as a real alternative to institutional care.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seeking Resilience: The Care Capacity Goals of Family Carers and the Role of Technology in Achieving Them

Leslie

Gray

Eales

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Background As global populations age, governments have come to rely heavily on family carers (FCs) to care for older adults and reduce the demands made of formal health and social care systems. Under increasing pressure, sustainability of FC’s unpaid care work has become a pressing issue. This paper explores FCs’ care-related work goals, and describes how those goals do, or do not, link to technology. Methods We employed a sequential mixed-method approach using focus groups followed by an online survey about FCs’ goals. We held 10 focus groups and recruited 25 FCs through a mix of convenience and snowball sampling strategies. Carer organizations helped us recruit 599 FCs from across Canada to complete an online survey. Participants’ responses to an open-ended question in the survey were included in our qualitative analysis. An inductive approach was employed using qualitative thematic content analysis methods to examine and interpret the resulting data. We used NVIVO 12 software for data analysis. Results We identified two care quality improvement goals of FCs providing care to older adults: enhancing and safeguarding their caregiving capacity. To enhance their capacity to care, FCs sought: 1) foreknowledge about their care recipients’ changing condition, and 2) improved navigation of existing support systems. To safeguard their own wellbeing, and so to preserve their capacity to care, FCs sought to develop coping strategies as well as opportunities for mentorship and socialization. Conclusions We conclude that a paradigm shift is needed to reframe caregiving from a current deficit frame focused on failures and limitations (burden of care) towards a more empowering frame (sustainability and resiliency). The fact that FCs are seeking strategies to enhance and safeguard their capacities to provide care means they are approaching their unpaid care work from the perspective of resilience. Their goals and technology suggestions imply a shift from understanding care as a source of ‘burden’ towards a more ‘resilient’ and ‘sustainable’ model of caregiving. Our case study findings show that technology can assist in fostering this resiliency but that it may well be limited to the role of an intermediary that connects FCs to information, supports and peers.

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Caring for our carers: An international perspective on policy developments in the UK

Cited by 25 publications

References 0 publications

The care capacity goals of family carers and the role of technology in achieving them

The care capacity goals of family carers and the role of technology in achieving them

Caring too much? Lack of public services to older people reduces attendance at work among their children

Seeking Resilience: The Care Capacity Goals of Family Carers and the Role of Technology in Achieving Them

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