Ford Gayle L
Faculty of Health, School of Social Work and Social Policy, Bendigo, Victoria, Australia.
Rural Remote Health. 2008 Jul-Sep;8(3):1030. Epub 2008 Sep 15.
The community care philosophy in Australia has led to a number of older people remaining in their own homes, dependant on others for the majority of their care needs. A small number of older people being cared for by a family member or friend will move into residential aged care facilities for full-time care. This article describes a qualitative study that explored the meanings that older rural Australian caregivers gave to their day-to-day lives after their care-receiver had entered full-time residential aged care.
Semi-structured interviews with seven older caregivers were conducted to gain understandings about their 'life after placement'. Thematic analysis was employed to identify common themes. Quality of life concepts provided the boundaries to the research questions.
The sample included four men and three women. In the study, the men reported spending more time continuing their carer role, while the women reported being more focussed on reconnecting with the community. Both men and women reported that their own health was a major constraint in being able to maintain these two tasks. The findings mirrored those of similar studies with one notable exception: this study highlighted the meanings that caregivers gave to their lives after placement in a more holistic way, as opposed to focussing on caregivers in relation to the residential aged care facility context alone.
This study demonstrated that there are differences found in relation to gender and tasks after in-home caring roles have ended. Worry about loss of driving ability was a major concern in the caregivers' lives. The experiences of the caregivers in this study give a better understanding of what life is like for caregivers after in-home caring has ceased. Understanding of 'life after placement' expands our knowledge about carers and the role of carer. The findings suggest a need for funding and programs for caregivers after their in-home carer role has ended to assist caregivers (particularly men) in reconnecting with people and activities outside their immediate family. The findings may direct rural community development workers to appreciate the challenges that older rural caregivers face when their in-home caring role ends and visiting and socializing is dependant on their ability to drive. This study also offers a perspective for residential aged care staff to consider as they work with families placing an older family member into full-time care. If aged care staff recognise the value of the continuing caring role of the caregiver and integrate them into the care plan, enhanced positive outcomes could transpire for both caregiver and care-recipient.
澳大利亚的社区护理理念使得许多老年人能够留在自己家中，但他们的大部分护理需求依赖他人。少数由家庭成员或朋友照顾的老年人将搬进老年护理机构接受全日制护理。本文描述了一项定性研究，该研究探讨了澳大利亚农村老年护理人员在其护理对象进入全日制老年护理机构后，对其日常生活所赋予的意义。
对七名老年护理人员进行了半结构化访谈，以了解他们“安置后的生活”。采用主题分析法来确定共同主题。生活质量概念为研究问题设定了界限。
样本包括四名男性和三名女性。在研究中，男性报告花费更多时间继续履行护理职责，而女性报告更专注于重新融入社区。男性和女性都报告说，自身健康是能否维持这两项任务的主要制约因素。研究结果与类似研究相似，但有一个显著例外：本研究更全面地突出了护理人员在安置后对其生活所赋予的意义，而不是仅关注与老年护理机构背景相关的护理人员。
本研究表明，家庭护理角色结束后，在性别和任务方面存在差异。对失去驾驶能力的担忧是护理人员生活中的一个主要问题。本研究中护理人员的经历让我们更好地了解了家庭护理停止后护理人员的生活状况。对“安置后的生活”的理解扩展了我们对护理人员及其角色的认识。研究结果表明，在家庭护理人员的角色结束后，需要为他们提供资金和项目，以帮助护理人员（尤其是男性）重新与直系家庭以外的人和活动建立联系。研究结果可能会引导农村社区发展工作者认识到农村老年护理人员在家庭护理角色结束且探访和社交依赖其驾驶能力时所面临的挑战。本研究还为老年护理机构工作人员在与将老年家庭成员送入全日制护理机构的家庭合作时提供了一个思考角度。如果老年护理人员认识到护理人员持续护理角色的价值并将他们纳入护理计划，那么护理人员和护理对象都可能会取得更好的积极成果。
