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Development of Support Networks in Informal Dementia Care: Guided, Organic, and Chance Routes through Support*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 October 2012

Valerie Egdell
Valerie Egdell*
Affiliation:
Edinburgh Napier University
*
†Correspondence and requests for offprints should be sent to / La correspondance et les demandes de tirés-à-part doivent être adressées à: Valerie Egdell, Ph.D. Employment Research Institute Edinburgh Napier University Craiglockhart Campus Edinburgh EH14 1DJ United Kingdom (v.egdell@napier.ac.uk)
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Abstract

ABSTRACT

Increasing knowledge about factors that shape the development of care networks for people with dementia is imperative in countries with aging populations that are relying increasingly on informal care. This study used a qualitative approach to identify the complex routes through support taken by informal caregivers for people with dementia in the development of their care networks. Interview data were collected from 13 caregivers. Three routes through support were identified: guided routes, organic routes, and chance routes. This article’s principal argument is that these routes are the outcomes not only of the resources that caregivers draw upon, but also of their varying expectations regarding the role of the informal caregiver. The identification of the three routes through support provides a potentially valuable framework for examining the experiences of caregivers for individuals with other long-term health conditions.

Résumé

RÉSUMÉ

Accroître les connaissances sur le développement de réseaux de soins pour personnes atteintes de démence est impératif dans les pays avec des populations vieillissantes avec l’augmentation de la dépendance sur les soins informels. Cette étude a utilisé une approche qualitative pour identifier les voies complexes prises par les aidants naturels de personnes atteintes de démence dans le développement de leurs réseaux de soins. Elle a examiné les données d’entrevue de 13 aidants naturels de personnes atteintes de démence. Trois chemins ont été identifiés: Les chemins guidés, les chemins organiques, et les chemins de chance. L’argument principal de cet article est que ces chemins résultent, non seulement des ressources que les aidants naturels peuvent utiliser, mais également des espérances variables du rôle des aidants naturels. En outre, les résultats fournissent un cadre potentiel pour examiner les expériences des aidants naturels qui s’occupent de personnes atteintes d’autres maladies chroniques.

Keywords

viellissementdémenceprestation de soinsaidants naturelssoutien socialagingdementiacaregiverscaregivingsocial support
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 31 , Issue 4 , December 2012 , pp. 445 - 455
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 2012 

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Footnotes

*

This article draws on findings of a Ph.D. study hosted by the Geography Department and the Institute of Health and Society at Newcastle University, United Kingdom. The study was jointly funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and the Medical Research Council (PTA-037-2006-00003). I thank my Ph.D. supervisors Helen Jarvis, John Bond, Katie Brittain, and Ian McKeith for their invaluable support in this study. Thanks go, as well, to all the research participants and the gatekeeper groups.

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