Paper
Friday, 21 July 2006
This presentation is part of : Health Experiences of Adult Women
Nurses Caring for Aging Relatives: Blurring the Professional-Personal Boundaries
Catherine Ward-Griffin, RN, PhD1, Janice Keefe, PhD2, Anne Martin-Matthews, PhD3, Mickey Kerr, PhD1, and Judith Brown, PhD4. (1) School of Nursing, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada, (2) Family Studies, Mount Saint Vicent University, Halifax, NS, Canada, (3) Gerontolgy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada, (4) Family Medicine, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
Learning Objective #1: examine the familial care expectations, supports, negotiating strategies and caregiving interface of nurses caring for aging relatives;
Learning Objective #2: discuss those policies that are required to improve the quality of nurses’ lives and the people they care for in their professional and personal lives.
Caring for aging relatives is a central and common feature of the personal and professional lives of many women. Findings from a previous critical feminist qualitative study of female health professionals who provided care to older family members led to the development of a conceptual model of double-duty caregiving.  To further our understanding of health professionals caring for aging relatives, the purpose of this current study was to develop and validate an instrument (DDC Scale) that measured constructs from the double-duty caregiving model (familial care expectations, supports, negotiating strategies and caregiving interface).  A questionnaire, comprised of the DDC Scale and other instruments that measured role strain, health and well-being, was sent to 800 Registered Nurses in Ontario. It was proposed that high expectations to provide familial care and low supports will lead to increase blurring of boundaries between professional and personal domains of caregiving, resulting in large caregiving interfaces and greater negative health effects. Study results will increase our understanding of the intersections between private and public, professional and personal and paid and unpaid caregiving. This information will also inform decision-makers and other policy personnel about the potential health effects of double-duty caregiving. Understanding those areas where nurses who care at home and at work may need support would help workplace, professional and governmental organizations to develop appropriate programs and policies. Ultimately, identification and implementation of supports will hopefully improve the quality of nurses’ lives and the people they care for in their professional and personal lives.

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