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Managing chronic illness in the family: women as caretakers
Author(s) -
Anderson Joan M.,
Eifert Helen
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
journal of advanced nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.948
H-Index - 155
eISSN - 1365-2648
pISSN - 0309-2402
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2648.1989.tb01638.x
Subject(s) - ideology , construct (python library) , ethnography , psychology , competence (human resources) , sociology of health and illness , health care , developmental psychology , social psychology , medicine , nursing , sociology , politics , political science , computer science , anthropology , law , economics , programming language , economic growth
This paper is based on an ethnographic study examining how families caring for a chronically ill child in the home construct their experiences of illness. The role of women caretakers is examined, and it is argued that the term family glosses over the work that women do in caretaking. The ‘ideology of competence’ which determines women's subjective experiences is discussed, and the notion is forwarded that health professionals rely upon this ideology to get the job of caretaking done in the home. Some implications of this discussion for health care delivery are presented.