The long term objective of this research program are to identify adaptational outcomes related to families' experience of delivering home care to technology-dependent children.
The specific aim of this project is to describe the process of becoming a caregiver for a technology-dependent child, within the context of family roles and functions. The research questions focus on the primary caregiver's perceptions of care problems, the development of caregivers' problem-solving skills, and family responses to the home care experience. Study findings will be important in developing better discharge planning, and in developing and testing nursing interventions that could improve the caregiving experience for families. The study design uses a grounded theory approach. Investigators will observe and interview families engaged in home care over a period of 4-6 months, using a participant- structured interview. Interviews will be tape recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using constant comparative analysis. Field notes will be recorded for each visit, and will be analyzed with interview data. The Ethnograph computer program will be used to assist in data management. Core variables or themes from data analysis become the underpinning of the theory generated. Further literature searching will take place during and after data analysis to identify other theoretical perspectives related to the findings.
