Hancock Peter J, Jarvis Jayne A, L'Veena Tanja
Centre for Social Research, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup Campus, Joondalup, Western Australia, Australia.
Home Health Care Serv Q. 2007;26(2):59-84. doi: 10.1300/J027v26n02_04.
The Australian Red Cross Older Carers Program was developed in 2003 to support the unique needs of "older carers" aged 65 and older (50 if Indigenous) who care for a person (a care recipient, usually a family member) aged 18 or older who have a permanent disability. The aim of the program was to provide intensive case planning, management, and volunteer support that would assist older carers to more readily access respite and continue their caring role in the home. To help achieve this end, ongoing individualised and holistic assistance involving older carers in decision making was an integral component of the Older Carers Program, as was the use of regular home visits by program staff. The Older Carers Program evaluation was both a process and outcome evaluation. Much of the evaluation research focused on the extent to which it had met its stated aims and objectives. However, because the program was quite new and innovative there was a significant further focus upon the processes and activities within the program. At the time the evaluation research was conducted (May 2005), the program had been in operation for 22 months. The population group was identified as those persons (older carers) who had been part of the program between July 2003 and March 2005. Of the 96 older carers who had accessed the program in the specified period, 62 agreed to participate in our research. The methodology consisted of an audit or the program database, in-depth interviews with older carers, and contextual data collection involving program staff and other stakeholders.
澳大利亚红十字会老年护理者项目于2003年设立，旨在满足65岁及以上（原住民为50岁及以上）老年护理者的特殊需求，这些护理者照顾的对象是18岁及以上的永久性残疾人士（护理对象，通常为家庭成员）。该项目的目标是提供深入的个案规划、管理及志愿者支持，以帮助老年护理者更便捷地获得喘息机会，并继续在家中承担护理职责。为实现这一目标，让老年护理者参与决策的持续个性化和全面援助，以及项目工作人员定期家访，都是老年护理者项目不可或缺的组成部分。老年护理者项目评估既是过程评估，也是结果评估。大部分评估研究聚焦于该项目在多大程度上实现了既定目标。然而，由于该项目较为新颖且具有创新性，所以还重点关注了项目内部的流程和活动。在进行评估研究时（2005年5月），该项目已运作22个月。目标人群确定为2003年7月至2005年3月期间参与该项目的人员（老年护理者）。在规定时期内使用该项目的96名老年护理者中，62人同意参与我们的研究。研究方法包括审查项目数据库、对老年护理者进行深入访谈，以及收集涉及项目工作人员和其他利益相关者的背景数据。
