The family: long-term care research and policy formulation.
In industrialized democracies, contractionist social welfare policies have transformed healthcare systems. This has led to reallocations of long-term care work that have perpetuated gender inequities. The appropriated work of female family care-givers substitutes for paid nursing work, and the household is the primary site for long-term care delivery. In this article, central premises of critical social theory are used to analyse current long-term care policy and to explicate how research facilitated the development of mixed economies of care. Problematic consequences of home caregiving are revealed through a depiction of contemporary Canadian families, a critique of the related empirical research literature, and a discussion of the assumptions that underlie long-term care policies. The article concludes with suggestions which nurse researchers could use to contribute to the reformulation of policies to render them just and equitable.
McKeever
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Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
D002170:Canada; D017028:Caregivers; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006291:Health Policy; D006302:Health Services Research; D006701:Home Nursing; D006801:Humans; D008134:Long-Term Care; D015399:Nursing Research