From the Real Frontline: The Unique Contributions of Mental Health Caregivers in Canadian Foster Homes
This article reports the findings of a qualitative study on the contribution of foster home caregivers for people with serious mental illness. Traditionally, social workers have played a key role in the supervision of foster homes. Little is known about how the help caregivers provide is similar to,...
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Published in | Health & social work Vol. 33; no. 1; pp. 43 - 53 |
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Main Authors | , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
United States
Oxford University Press
01.02.2008
National Association of Social Workers (NASW) |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | This article reports the findings of a qualitative study on the contribution of foster home caregivers for people with serious mental illness. Traditionally, social workers have played a key role in the supervision of foster homes. Little is known about how the help caregivers provide is similar to, or different from, that provided by mental health professionals. Twenty semistructured interviews were conducted with caregivers operating foster homes in Montréal, Canada. With no preset theoretical framework, data analysis was inductive and ongoing, involving the identification of categories and themes. Overall findings revealed that caregivers consider themselves the real frontline workers. They claim to be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to combine egalitarian and affective relationships with their residents and to provide them with personalized care. Caregivers are well positioned to respond immediately to crises. Caregivers also believe that their intimate and thorough familiarity with their residents allows them to assess residents differently than could social workers. These findings have implications for mental health professionals. The combined skills and expertise of nonprofessional caregivers and social workers are essential in promoting the residents' reintegration into the community. |
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Bibliography: | Myra Piat, MSW, PhD, is researcher, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montréal, Québec, Canada, and assistant professor, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada; e-mail: myra.piat@douglas.mcgill.ca. Nicole Ricard, PhD, is professor, University of Montréal, and researcher, Fernand Séguin Research Centre, Montréal, Québec, Canada. Judith Sabetti, MSW, is research assistant, Douglas Mental Health University Institute. Louise Beauvais, MSc, is nurse clinician, Rivière des Prairies Hospital. We thank the residential caregivers whose thoughtful and candid reflections provided us with a rich database. We are also grateful to the multidisciplinary teams from the Douglas Hospital, the McGill University Hospitals, and the Louis H. LaFontaine Hospital for facilitating access to potential study participants. Address all correspondence concerning this article to Dr. Myra Piat, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, 6875 Lasalle Boulevard, Verdun, Québec, H4H 1R3 Canada. ark:/67375/HXZ-1D2RF2NZ-8 istex:5C842BF9C207179E1EE7485105466F643CD105A7 ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-1 content type line 23 ObjectType-Article-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 |
ISSN: | 0360-7283 1545-6854 |
DOI: | 10.1093/hsw/33.1.43 |