Premium
‘You do know he’s had a stroke, don’t you?’ Preparation for family care‐giving – the neglected dimension
Author(s) -
Brereton Louise,
Nolan Mike
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
journal of clinical nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.94
H-Index - 102
eISSN - 1365-2702
pISSN - 0962-1067
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2702.2000.00396.x
Subject(s) - general partnership , nursing , club , psychology , dimension (graph theory) , stroke (engine) , journal club , medicine , medical education , political science , pure mathematics , law , anatomy , engineering , mechanical engineering , mathematics
• Countries throughout the developed world have introduced a policy of community care for older people to reduce costs to the state and maintain quality of life. • In reality community care is largely family care and recognition of the need to support family carers is being promoted through the notion of partnership with professional carers. • Such a partnership calls for a more complete understanding of how carers’ needs change over time and how professional support can be most effective. • Support is particularly important at the start of care‐giving in order that carers can exercise free choice and be adequately prepared for their role. • This paper provides an overview an ongoing longitudinal study and reports specifically on the findings of data from a preliminary study in which a convenience sample of seven experienced carers of stroke survivors who attended a stroke and carers club were interviewed in their own homes. • Based on initial data from a longitudinal study of stroke victims, this paper outlines four themes: ‘What’s it all about’, ‘Going it alone’, ‘Up to the job’ and ‘What about me?’ These themes highlight the difficulties carers experience in the immediate aftermath of stroke.