Suchergebnisse

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to explore the following questions. First, what are the experiences of family caregivers in caring for community-dwelling stroke survivors? Second, what services help or do not help the caregivers in managing their caregiving role?


Design/methodology/approach
– A qualitative study was conducted with a total of six focus group interviews with 29 stroke caregivers selected using convenience sampling in a local community centre. All interviews were recorded and transcribed for content analysis.


Findings
– The results pointed to three main themes working together to facilitate desirable outcomes in caregiving and prevent elder abuse: factors contributing to caregiver stress and factors that have a buffering effect on caregiver stress and unmet needs identified from caregivers' experiences.


Research limitations/implications
– The authors found that there were a number of factors contributing to caregiver stress. The findings matched with the concept that caregiver stress should not be considered as the primary cause of elder abuse. Findings provided information for further research to investigate positive coping and adjustment for stroke survivors, caregivers and their families.


Practical implications
– Policy makers and service providers may consider specific policies and tailor-made services to enhance the effectiveness of current practice. The themes emerging from the study could be further reviewed in a longitudinal way to explore the cost-effectiveness, the outcomes and trajectory of interventional programmes.


Social implications
– Education would be essential to let the public understand caregivers' difficulties and needs. Prevention of elder abuse may be approached with a range of risk factors for both perpetrating and being elder abuse victim.


Originality/value
– From the findings of the study, the authors found that there were service gaps within policy and interventions. Concrete suggestions for improving the public's attitude and public facilities/transport for the disabled were captured in the study. In addition to personal resilience, caregivers had a strong wish for a supportive environment and services that would facilitate a better caregiving outcome.

AbstractObjectiveTo validate the Family Resilience Assessment Scale (FRAS) in Chinese family caregivers.BackgroundCaregiver burden among family caregivers is a growing social issue. Family resilience is a crucial protective factor for easing caregiver burden. The FRAS is specifically designed to evaluate family resilience. However, the factor structure and validity of the FRAS have not yet been examined among Chinese family caregivers.MethodData were collected from 323 Chinese family caregivers. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were adopted to determine the factor structure and model fit. Concurrent validity and internal consistency were also studied.ResultsEFA analysis yielded a 42‐item five‐factor structure of the FRAS, which demonstrated satisfactory model fit by CFA analysis. The five‐factor model FRAS also showed adequate concurrent validity and internal consistency (α = 0.724–0.963).ConclusionThe proposed five‐factor FRAS is likely a valid and reliable scale for evaluating the family resilience level of family caregivers in Chinese communities.ImplicationsThe present study recommends the use of the FRAS in family caregiving research to facilitate intervention development by social professionals for promoting family resilience and reducing caregiver burden in Chinese communities.