BILD 1

1
Support to Family Caregivers Department of
Support and Service of persons with
Disabilities, Norrbotten, Sweden
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BACKGROUND

• Act concerning Support and Service for Persons
  with Certain Functional Impairments (LSS)
• Rights granted by law issued 1993 Act (1993387)
• Provide information
• Support/Advice to the person with disability and
  family members to cope with the new situation of
  life

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Family Caregivers in Sweden

• Every forth person in Sweden between 55 years old
  or more is a caregiver
• Altogether about 650 000 persons
• According to the Social Services Act (SoL) the
  municipalities are responsible to facilitate and
  support family members who are caregivers
• Support is very limited to family members of
  especially younger people with long lasting
  disease or/and with disability

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Projekt Family Caregivers

• In 2001 the LSS-team offered family members of
  spouses and parents to older children to
  participate in a weekly group with body awareness
  exercises with subsequent reflections led by a
  physiotherapist
• In 2005 more systematically arranged body
  awareness groups to family members (5-6 persons)
  led by a physiotherapist and a social worker
• Take advantage of the family caregivers, the
  social workers and the physiotherapists
  competence in this group dynamics

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The objective

• Create reasonable claims as a family caregiver
• Relieve the pressure on the family caregiver
• Direct the strength towards things possible to
  influence on
• Have access to private time
• Feel safe as a family caregiver

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Group participants, contents

• 5-6 persons in each group
• Females and males
• Family caregivers of spouses and adult children
• 8 -10 meetings, 2 hours/ at a time
• Practical body awareness exercises with
  subsequent reflections set out from the exercises
  

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Evaluation

• A questionnaire was designed to evaluate the body
  awareness course for family members. The
  questions dealt with
• Experiences of the role as family caregiver
• The relationship to family member with disability
  
• Experiences of Support and Services
• Need of changes

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An individual process evaluation with notes

• Being a family caregiver is demanding
• Need of practical service and emotional support
• Big needs of changes of life situation
• Worry for the future
• Lack of freedom constantly be on duty
• No space for living

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Preliminary Results

• The role as a family caregiver was experienced
  less demanding at the questionnaire evaluation
  six month after the end of the course
• Some persons slept better after the end of the
  course
• Even if the burden was experienced as the same
  at the beginning and at the end, the family
  members experienced the situation less demanding

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Discussion/Conclusion

• The life situation is bearable even if big
  changes will not occur
• Important to involve the local municipality
  supporting the family caregivers
• Go in for a public health direction of the
  support to family caregivers