ANALYSIS OF RURAL APPALACHIAN CAREGIVERS' USE OF SOCIAL SUPPORT.
Contributors: University of Texas at Austin.
Published: 1990
Number of pages: 219
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Sociology, General.; Psychology, General.
Description: The purpose of this study was to analyze how rural Appalachia caregivers, those who provide care to impaired persons in the home, interact with various systems of social support. The Bruhn and Philips (1984) mechanism of social support provided the framework for this qualitative study. The research questions asked what systems of social support were used, how the social support was used, what perceptions the caregivers had of the social support, and how the social support systems used by the caregivers compared with current home health policy.

The instruments used for the collection of data were The West Virginia Department of Health Patient Care Assessment Forms, the Family Environment Scale (Moos & Moos, 1986), a demographic questionnaire, and a social support assessment tool developed by the author. Twelve caregivers were interviewed on three separate occasions. The interviews were audiorecorded and later transcribed. These data were then analyzed according to Leininger's (1985) thematic analysis.

The major conclusion of this study is that in rural Appalachia it is the family that supplies the major source of social support to caregivers and their patients in the home. Thematic analysis revealed seven themes that related specifically to Appalachian caregivers: the influence of certain characteristics of the caregiver; their concern to avoid imposition on others; the impact of the various phases that caregiving passes through; the impact of gender-defined roles; the requirement of trust in assistants; a display of emotional independence; and the experience of emotional conflict.

The findings of the study indicate that nurses need to carefully assess the capacities of the caregiver and the resources of the community in determining the types and amounts of social support that can be utilized. Among their many services, nurses often will find it necessary to supply emotional support to caregivers. They may need to reach somewhat into the public domain to serve as case managers to match public services with caregivers' needs.

Nurses should keep up with politics and public health policy so as to be prepared to act as change agents in the public arena. Among the changes to be recommended in home health policy are more emphasis in preventive services, a focus on long-term rather than acute medical care, and greater valuation of, and systematic support to, primary caregivers in the home.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 51-10, Section: B, page: 4781.

Thesis (PH.D.)--THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN, 1990.

School code: 0227.