Leu Agnes, Frech Marianne, Jung Corinna
Department of Health Science, Careum Research, Kalaidos University of Applied Sciences, Zurich, Switzerland.
Institute of Primary Care, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Health Soc Care Community. 2018 Jul;26(4):e560-e570. doi: 10.1111/hsc.12574. Epub 2018 Apr 11.
While political and public interest in providing support for family carers is growing, so called young carers and young adult carers-young persons under the ages of 18 and 25 respectively-mostly remain unrecognised. Yet, this vulnerable group is in need of special attention and support from professionals in order to get along with the situation of an ill family member and the caring duties they perform. This paper presents the results from a focus group study on the level of awareness among professionals from healthcare, education and social services concerning the topic of caring children, adolescents and young adults; and on the practice tools they consider necessary and helpful in order to support young carers and young adult carers. Twenty-seven professionals from the German- and French-speaking parts of Switzerland participated in five focus groups. The focus groups were recorded and transcribed verbatim, and the transcripts were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Our findings show that the professionals have a low level of awareness of the issue of young carers and young adult carers and also highlight the professionals' willingness to engage with the subject. The results also show that professionals consider that practice tools (such as standardised questionnaires and check lists) could be important devices in providing support for young carers and young adult carers. These tools could be helpful in identifying this group, enabling them to identify themselves as such, and would ensure that they received appropriate support.
尽管政界和公众对为家庭照顾者提供支持的关注度在不断提高，但所谓的年轻照顾者（分别指18岁以下和25岁以下的年轻人）大多仍未得到认可。然而，这一弱势群体需要专业人士给予特别关注和支持，以便应对家中有患病成员的情况以及他们所承担的照顾职责。本文呈现了一项焦点小组研究的结果，该研究聚焦于医疗保健、教育和社会服务领域的专业人士对照顾儿童、青少年和年轻人这一话题的认知水平，以及他们认为对支持年轻照顾者和青年照顾者必要且有帮助的实践工具。来自瑞士德语区和法语区的27名专业人士参与了五个焦点小组。焦点小组的讨论进行了录音并逐字转录，然后使用定性内容分析法对转录文本进行了分析。我们的研究结果表明，专业人士对年轻照顾者和青年照顾者问题的认知水平较低，同时也凸显了他们参与该主题的意愿。结果还表明，专业人士认为实践工具（如标准化问卷和清单）可能是为年轻照顾者和青年照顾者提供支持的重要手段。这些工具有助于识别这一群体，使他们能够自我认定为照顾者，并确保他们获得适当的支持。
