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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Support groups for informal caregivers don't work!
— Refocus the groups or the evaluations? | | Author(s) | Jean-Pierre Lavoie |
| Journal title | Canadian Journal on Aging, vol 14, no 3, Fall 1995 |
| Pages | pp 580-603 |
| Keywords | Informal care ; Self help organisations ; Evaluation ; Literature reviews. |
| Annotation | This is a critical review of studies evaluating support groups for informal caregivers, a form of intervention that is becoming increasingly prevalent in public and community organisations. After setting the context for support groups, the paper briefly describes types of support groups evaluated, types of evaluative research, principle results, and limitations of the evaluations. The studies reviewed focus mainly on short-term support groups that offer information and emotional support and help develop new skills. The evaluations mainly seek to assess the impact of groups on the consequences of stress by using experimental designs and standardised measures; they pay little attention to evaluating implementation. Most of the studies conclude that support groups have little impact. Three major avenues for future research are proposed: analysis of different types of support groups; multiplicity of theoretical and disciplinary approaches focusing more attention on group dynamics and social issues; and use of a greater range of research methods. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-970821273 A |
| Classmark | P6: PQ: 4C: 64A |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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