Towards sustainable family care: using goals to reframe the user-centred design of technologies to support carers

Leslie, Myles; Eales, Jacquie; Fast, Janet; Atoyebi, Oladele Ademola; Khayatzadeh‐Mahani, Akram

doi:10.1332/239788219x15597493546652

Cited by 14 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 9 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Participants in our research pointed to the fragmentation of support services, and the navigation and access challenges this fragmentation introduced. The challenges here are likely manifold, resulting from some combination of: 1) diversity in FCs' needs and goals [25,65]; 2) diversity within the sectors providing support services to FCs [66,67]; and 3) the complexity and fragmentation of the health and social security 'system' more broadly [67][68][69]. It is well-documented that FCs who have access to social support services cope better with caregiving stress [70].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2020

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2020

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Participants in our research pointed to the fragmentation of support services, and the navigation and access challenges this fragmentation introduced. The challenges here are likely manifold, resulting from some combination of: 1) diversity in FCs' needs and goals [25,62]; 2) diversity within the sectors providing support services to FCs [66,67]; and 3) the complexity and fragmentation of the health and social security 'system' more broadly [67][68][69]. It is welldocumented that FCs who have access to social support services cope better with caregiving stress [70].…”

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

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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.

show abstract

“…Enhancing and safeguarding caregiving capacity were two key goals of FCs providing care to older adults. Through each, FCs sought to provide higher quality care in a more sustainable way [71]. These findings suggest FCs are not particularly concerned with short-term needs but rather are focused on long-term goals and enhancing their resiliency.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Participants in our research pointed to the fragmentation of support services, and the navigation and access challenges this fragmentation introduced. The challenges here are likely manifold, resulting from some combination of: 1) diversity in FCs' needs and goals [25,71]; 2) diversity within the sectors providing support services to FCs [75,76]; and 3) the complexity and fragmentation of the health and social security 'system' more broadly [76][77][78]. It is welldocumented that FCs who have access to social support services cope better with caregiving stress [79].…”

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

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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, FCs’ resilience and the sustainability of their unpaid care work have become pressing issues. This paper explores FCs’ care-related work goals and 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 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 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.

show abstract

Towards sustainable family care: using goals to reframe the user-centred design of technologies to support carers

Cited by 14 publications

References 9 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

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

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

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About