Supporting families and carers

摘要

Nurses know more than anyone in health care the importance of involving families and (informal) carers in all aspects of caregiving from assessment, planning and evaluation of care to partnership working. With the rising numbers of carers in UK society we know that approximately one in ten of the UK population are unpaid carers supporting a friend or family member. More specifically, according to the 2011 census, there were 5.41 million unpaid carers in England, and 0.37 million in Wales, which equates to between 7% and 14 % of the total population across England and Wales (White, 2013). So, there is no doubt that families and carers are vital to the wellbeing and independence of thousands of people and their involvement is essential, but it is also constantly increasing. Of course the caregiving experience is unique to each family and caregiver and this experience is often likened to that of a 'rollercoaster ride' with many ups and downs reliant upon their loved one's individual illness or disease trajectory. In seeking to support and understand the role of carers and the consequences of caring, nurses need to be able to draw on reliable information sources. The art of nursing is critical in developing therapeutic relationships and to understanding family caregivers' experiences.