Together in Line, the Power of Informal Care in Group

Summary

An aging population means an increase of the oldest part of the population, resulting from a change in demographic behavior and an increasing lifespan. The social networks are changing and the health care costs are rising. We know informal care of older civilians becomes more and more complex. A formal framework with a good communication to support informal caregivers is therefore essential in order to provide good care for a dependent older civilian.

Informal care is the support and assistance of a dependent person, outside the context of professional care or organized volunteering, but by one or more members from the immediate vicinity of the dependent1. The 'informal care group' is defined as follows: 'a group of two or more persons who together provide informal care to a dependent person, beyond the scope of professional care or organized volunteering, but as members of the immediate vicinity of the dependent'.

In this group, the different members contribute to the care process in an equitable but non-proportional manner. The dynamics in an informal care group are obviously different from those in a family where one central informal caregiver is responsible for the care of the ill relative: behind each individual of the informal care group, there is also a partner and/or children who influence the care motivations and accountability.

Sharing informal caregiving has important advantages. Firstly, individuals of the informal care group needs less time to fulfill specific caregiver tasks and have more time to cope with external stressors. Secondly, caregivers in group receive support from each other, which strengthens their self-efficacy. However, the involvement of more caregivers may also be a source of conflict.

This project aims to meet the needs of informal care groups of older civilians. An adjusted support for older civilians (≥70 years) and their informal care group will be achieved. We will focus on their needs, aimed to decrease the caregiver burden and increase the well-being of both older civilian and caregivers. This goal will be achieved by a better care planning and attempts to improve communication between older civilian, informal and professional caregivers, which we found in previous research as difficult and an important obstacle in concretize individual tailored support of the older civilian and caregivers.

Conditions

• Quality of Life

Interventions

OTHER

Keuzewijzer

The intervention, offered to the older civilians and their informal care groups will consist of a updated version of the 'Keuzewijzer'. This is a self-management tool which stimulates the communication within the informal care groups to make behaved choices concerning the care for the older civilian, taking into account the standards, values, concerns and needs of every informal caregiver and older civilian. The most important value of this intervention is the approachability and the structured, but adjusted manner of support, focused on the individual context of care with their specific needs. The 'Keuzewijzer' is an online tool whereby, in conversation with the informal care group and older civilian, the following aspects will be discussed in the context of the care for the older civilian: 1) analyzing the problem, 2) detection of possibilities or alternatives, 3) clarifying of motives and feelings and 4) weighting between values.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• KU Leuven

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Birgitte Schoenmakers, PhD · ACHG

Study Design

Allocation

NA

Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Masking

NONE

Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2018-03-28

Primary Completion

2018-09-30

Completion

2019-12-31

Countries

• Belgium

Study Locations