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Self-, Informal and Formal Care: Partnerships in Community-Based and Residential Long-Term Care Settings*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2010

Margaret J. Penning
Affiliation:
University of Victoria
Norah C. Keating
Affiliation:
University of Alberta

Abstract

Increasing emphasis is being placed on the need to have older adults, their families and formal service providers work together collaboratively or “in partnerships” to provide long-term care, both in community and residential care settings. There is therefore a need to determine how such relationships are currently structured. This paper systematically reviews the results of studies published from 1985 through 1998 on relationships involving self-, informal and formal care within these settings. The findings suggest that formal services are not used to displace or substitute for informal care but rather, that formal services tend to be used to supplement and complement the care provided by the informal network. This is true both in community and residential care settings. Exactly how these partnerships are structured and the relationships between self-care and both informal and formal systems of care are less clear. The findings point to a need to refocus attention away from the creation of partnerships and protecting against unnecessary substitution, towards broader concerns with supporting the partnerships that already exist.

Résumé

Un accent croissant est mis sur le besoin de regrouper les efforts des personnes âgées, de leur famille et des fournisseurs de services constitués dans un contexte de collaboration ou de partenariat en ce qui a trait aux soins de longue durée, que ce soit en établissement ou dans la communauté. Il est donc nécessaire d'établir de quelle façon ces relations sont actuellement structurées. L'auteur procède à un examen systématique des résultats des études réalisées entre 1985 et 1998 sur les relations entourant les soins personnels, l'assistance formelle et l'assistance informelle dans ces deux environnements. Les résultats tendent à démontrer que les soins formels ne viennent pas remplacer les services informels mais qu'ils sont plutôt utilisés en supplément ou en complément des soins assurés par le réseau informel, et ce tant en établissement que dans la collectivité. La structure exacte de ces partenariats et la relation entre les soins personnels et les soins assurés par les systèmes formels ou non apparaissent moins clairs. Les résultats montrent qu'il faut recentrer l'attention sur des préoccupations plus larges de soutien des partenariats déjà en place plutôt que sur la création de partenariats et la protection contre les substitutions inutiles.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 2000

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