Involving families in healthcare - Danish and Spanish perspectives

Wray, J

Abstract

It has been estimated that in England and Wales there are around six million carers (White, 2013) and most of these are family carers. This figure equates to approximately one in ten of the UK population are unpaid carers supporting a friend or family member (ONS, 2011) and is forever growing. In response UK government policy has placed an emphasis and priority upon integrated approaches to identifying, involving and supporting carers (DH 2010a, DH 2012, DH 2013a, DH 2013b), with every health professional having a responsibility and role to play. The ways in which patients and families experience health care is of fundamental importance (e.g. NHS England 2013) and impacts upon recovery patterns and notions of wellbeing. Nurses play a key role and for decades have sought to ‘reach out’ and work with families and carers.

A priority in undertaking my study was to place an emphasis upon families as carers and as knowledge holders in working with nurses. In addition, a prime concern was to be able capture meaning and have insights into the culture of care pertaining to the ‘norms’ of family involvement across a range of care settings. Thus the overarching aim of this travel scholarship was to explore how patients and families are involved and supported in care to enhance their recovery and wellbeing.

Objectives: I wanted to learn about, and have insights into family involvement in caregiving.

a) To learn about the ‘norms’ of family involvement

b) To see how families are involved across a range of care settings

c) To understand what is expected and how meaningful activities with healthcare staff are created

d) To gather information to both understand and learn from, these differences towards patient and family experiences than are seen in the UK.

I choose to visit Denmark and Spain as both countries compare differently to the UK in healthcare approaches but have a history of respect and values for involving families and accounting for patient experiences in healthcare.

Synthesis of my travel scholarship into my practice has been an integral feature from the outset. For example as part of my teaching of undergraduate student nurses I have and will continue to share the knowledge that I have obtained in the context of supporting families and carers. Specifically, as module lead for a dedicated under-graduate module: ‘Supporting Families and Carers’, I have shared my insights and findings within my teaching about the importance of involving families and building relationships in order to enhance recovery and wellbeing.

In my leadership role for service users and carers the process of conveying my findings with the user and carer group (members of the public) alongside colleagues continues to take place. Interestingly, I have featured key learning points on twitter (a social media platform) via @JuWray and @userscarersSU resulting in followers and direct contacts requesting further information. For example I have been approached by NHS England and interviewed in regard of hospitals visiting hours and the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) have sought information about patient hotels.

Citation

Wray, J. Involving families in healthcare - Danish and Spanish perspectives

• Report Type: Project Report
• Deposit Date: May 10, 2016
• Publisher URL: http://www.florence-nightingale-foundation.org.uk/content/page/667/
• Additional Information: Projects : Travel Scholarship