What Quality Paid Home Care Means to Family Caregivers

Abstract

The authors investigate the meanings of paid home care for family caregivers to frail older adults, comparing and contrasting what good and poor quality home care means to their caregiving efforts. Semistructured interviews were conducted with caregivers and were analyzed qualitatively, using McCracken’s (1988) five-step method for analysis of long interviews. Data from two studies were combined because of similarities in sample characteristics and interview questions and because data from the second study included both positive and negative experiences with home care providers. The authors find that caregivers perceived that good-quality paid home care facilitated enhanced quality of life for care recipients and improved perceptions of their performances as caregivers. When paid home care was of poor quality, caregivers felt more stress and increased their monitoring of providers. Caregiver circumstances, as well as care recipient needs, should be considered in making decisions about who receives formal home care services.