To manage a complex depency: The experience of caregiver after a fall
- Författare
- De la Questa Benjomea C, Ramis Ortega E, Arredondo Gonzalez CP
- Titel
- To manage a complex depency: The experience of caregiver after a fall
- Utgivningsår
- 2019
- Tidskrift
- Journal of Advanced Nursing
- Volym
- 75
- Häfte
- 1
- Sidor
- 138-149
- Nyckelord
- caregiving; falls; focus groups; nursing home care; older people; qualitative approaches.
- Sammanfattning
Abstract
Aim: To understand the experience of family members of an older relative who has had a fall which required medical attention.Background: There is abundant bibliography in caregiving, but little is known about the problems faced by caregivers and how family members cope when their older relative has a fall.
Design: Qualitative study that used a symbolic interactionism perspective.
Methods: Twenty-two people with older relatives, who had had a fall and contacted health services in Spain, participated in the study. Data were obtained via written accounts, focus groups, and semi-structured interviews between February 2014 - December 2015. Analysis was guided by grounded theory procedures.
Results: With the fall, dependency becomes a complex issue for the family. To manage a complex dependency is the core issue that emerges from the data analysis. It depicts family efforts to assist their relative in gaining autonomy after a fall, in the best conditions they can provide. They do this with little guidance and support from healthcare professionals.
Conclusions: Guides and protocols for the care of a fragile older person, particularly after a fall, should not only include care but also support to caregivers. Health professionals and especially nurses need to be aware and respond to the family caregivers needs after a fall. To the fall prevention initiatives already in place, it must be added that those who support family members to cope with the care of an older person who has had a fall.