Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2019 Apr 11;19(1):220.
doi: 10.1186/s12913-019-4042-0.

Caregivers' experiences of a home support program after the hospital discharge of an older family member: a qualitative analysis

Susan Slatyer  1   2   3 , Samar M Aoun  4   5 , Keith D Hill  6 , Debbie Walsh  7 , Dee Whitty  7 , Christine Toye  8   9
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Caregivers' experiences of a home support program after the hospital discharge of an older family member: a qualitative analysis

Susan Slatyer et al. BMC Health Serv Res. .

Abstract

Background: The ageing global population has seen increasing numbers of older people living with chronic health problems, declining function, and frailty. As older people seek to live out their years at home, family members, friends and neighbours (informal caregivers) are increasingly relied upon for support. Moreover, pressured health systems and shorter hospital length of stay mean that informal caregivers can find themselves supporting the older person who is still unwell after discharge. The Further Enabling Care at Home (FECH) program was developed as a nursing outreach intervention designed to systematically address support needs of family caregivers of older people after hospital discharge to sustain their home-based caregiving. The objective of this study was to explore the experiences of informal caregivers who participated in the FECH program after an older family member's discharge from hospital.

Methods: The study employed a qualitative descriptive design. Caregivers of older people discharged home from a Medical Assessment Unit in an Australian hospital who were included in the program were interviewed to explore their experiences and perceptions of the FECH program. Data were audio-recorded, transcribed, and subjected to thematic analysis.

Results: Twenty-one family caregivers (81% female, aged 25-89 years) participated in the interviews. Themes emerging were 'The experience of caregiving'; 'The experience of receiving FECH program support'; and 'Caregivers' suggestions for improvement'. Caregivers indicated that reflective discussions with the FECH nurse enabled them to recognise the complexity of the caregiving role and determine aspects where they needed support. Caregivers valued guidance from the FECH nurse in accessing information and resources, which helped them to feel more connected to support, more prepared to care for the older person and themselves, and more secure in the caregiving role.

Conclusions: Caregivers' experiences indicated that the structured reflective FECH discussions prompted thought and provided guidance in navigating health and care systems. The FECH program appears to offer a means to address the practical, physical and psychosocial needs of informal caregivers as partners in person-centred health and social care.

Trial registration: ANZCTR Trial ID: ACTRN126140011746773 .

Keywords: Caregiver needs; Nursing; Older people; Post-discharge; Qualitative research.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The study was approved by the Government of Western Australia Department of Health Human Research Ethics Committee 2014/78, the Sir Charles Gairdner Group Human Research Ethics Committee 2014–133, and the Curtin University Human Research Ethics Committee 14/2015. Written informed consent was received from all interview participants.

Consent for publication

Not applicable

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

References

    1. World Health Organization. World report on ageing and health 2015: World Health Organisation; 2018. http://wwwwhoint/ageing/events/world-report-2015-launch/en/ Accessed 30 July 2018
    1. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Australia’s health 2016. Australian institute of health and welfare. 2018 https://wwwaihwgovau/getmedia/9844cefb-7745-4dd8-9ee2-f4d1c3d6a727/19787... Accessed 30 July 2018.
    1. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Life expectancy and disability in Australia: expected years living with and without disability. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. 2018. https://www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/7b986857-7b41-4aae-b7ff-eab57eb20f13/20... Accessed 30 July 2018.
    1. May CR, Eton DT, Boehmer K, Gallagher K, Hunt K, Mac Donald S, et al. Rethinking the patient: using burden of treatment theory to understand the changing dynamics of illness. BMC Health Serv Res. 2014. 10.1186/1472-6963-14-281. - PMC - PubMed
    1. COTA. Summary report on the conversations on ageing. COTA. 2012. Available from: http://www.cotaqld.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/SUMMARY-REPORT-ON-T... Accessed 30 July 2018.

Publication types