With good intentions: complexity in unsolicited informal support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. A qualitative study

BMC Public Health

Research Article

Penny J Haora¹  Nathaniel J Ward¹  Tanisha Jowsey²  Laurann E Yen²  Clive Aspin³ 

[1] Australian Primary Health Care Research Institute, Australian National University, Ian Potter house, Cnr Marcus Clarke and Gordon streets, 0200, Acton, Canberra, Australia;Australian Primary Health Care Research Institute, Australian National University, Ian Potter house, Cnr Marcus Clarke and Gordon streets, 0200, Acton, Canberra, Australia;Menzies Centre for Health Policy, Australian National University, John Curtin School of Medical Research, Garran Road, 0200, Acton, Canberra, Australia;Menzies Centre for Health Policy, Australian National University, John Curtin School of Medical Research, Garran Road, 0200, Acton, Canberra, Australia;Poche Centre for Health Research, University of Sydney, Sydney Medical School, Edward Ford Building A27, 2006, NSW, Australia;

关键词: Aboriginal;    Indigenous;    chronic heart failure;    chronic illness;    chronic obstructive pulmonary disease;    diabetes;    qualitative methods;    self-management;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2458-11-686

 received in 2011-04-06, accepted in 2011-09-04,  发布年份 2011

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundUnderstanding people's social lived experiences of chronic illness is fundamental to improving health service delivery and health outcomes, particularly in relation to self-management activity. In explorations of social lived experiences this paper uncovers the ways in which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with chronic illness experience informal unsolicited support from peers and family members.MethodsNineteen Aboriginal and Torres Islander participants were interviewed in the Serious and Continuing Illness Policy and Practice Study (SCIPPS). Participants were people with Type 2 diabetes (N = 17), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (N = 3) and/or chronic heart failure (N = 11) and family carers (N = 3). Participants were asked to describe their experience of having or caring for someone with chronic illness. Content and thematic analysis of in-depth semi-structured interviews was undertaken, assisted by QSR Nvivo8 software.ResultsParticipants reported receiving several forms of unsolicited support, including encouragement, practical suggestions for managing, nagging, growling, and surveillance. Additionally, participants had engaged in 'yarning', creating a 'yarn' space, the function of which was distinguished as another important form of unsolicited support. The implications of recognising these various support forms are discussed in relation to responses to unsolicited support as well as the needs of family carers in providing effective informal support.ConclusionsCertain locations of responsibility are anxiety producing. Family carers must be supported in appropriate education so that they can provide both solicited and unsolicited support in effective ways. Such educational support would have the added benefit of helping to reduce carer anxieties about caring roles and responsibilities. Mainstream health services would benefit from fostering environments that encourage informal interactions that facilitate learning and support in a relaxed atmosphere.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
© Ward et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2011. This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.