The influence of carers' role consciousness on their caregiving considerations

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between carers' values and their caring practices. The survey was administered to employees of a residential care facility for the elderly who provide care on a daily basis. Questionnaires were distributed to 847 respondents and 501 responded (59.1% response rate). The population analysed consisted of 442 carers. The questionnaire mainly asked what kind of person they think a daily user is (user view), what kind of idea they should practice as a carer (carer view) and what considerations they have when caring for a user. t-test and Fisher's exact test were used. The results suggest that viewing the user/carer relationship as a ‘helping/being helped’ dichotomy may overlook opportunities for users to demonstrate their strengths and abilities, and that carers need to prepare and provide opportunities for users to demonstrate their 'helping' role and use this in their care.