Living in a house of cards: family experiences with long-term childhood technology dependence.
Families' experiences of providing long-term home care for the child who is technology dependent were explored via parental interviews. Families identified frequent change, uncertainty, and unpredictability in their lives, a phenomenon described as "living in a house of cards." Attempts to increase stability involved the use of vigilance, advocacy, and reframing. Areas of challenge, change, and growth included making sense of life, managing daily life with technology, and maintaining a functioning family. Increased understanding of family experiences with long-term childhood technology dependence can provide nurses with additional strategies for providing optimal care to this population.
Marquette University College of Nursing, 223 Clark Hall, PO Box 1881, Milwaukee, WI 53201-1881, USA. maureen.o'brien@marquette.edu
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D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D017281:Cost of Illness; D019988:Children with Disabilities; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D006701:Home Nursing; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015146:Midwestern United States