The right to care? Social citizenship and care poverty in developed welfare states

PurposeThere are clear theoretical, policy and practice tensions in conceptualising social or long-term care as a “right”: an enforceable choice. The purpose of this article is to address the following questions: Do disabled and older citizens have the right to long-term care? What do these rights look like under different care regimes? Do citizens have the right or duty to *provide* long-term care? It is already known that both formal and informal care across all welfare contexts is mainly provided by women and that this has serious implications for gender equality.Design/methodology/approachIn this article, the author takes a conceptual approach to examining the comparative evidence from developed welfare states with formal long-term care provision and the different models of care, to challenge feminist care theory from the perspective of those living in care poverty (i.e. with insufficient access to long-term care and support to meet their citizenship rights).FindingsDrawing on her own comparative research on models of long-term and “personalised” care, the author finds that different models of state provision and different models of personalised care provide differential citizenship outcomes for carers and those needing care. The findings indicate that well-governed personalised long-term care provides the best outcomes in terms of balancing potentially conflicting citizenship claims and addressing care poverty.Originality/valueThe author develops new approaches to care theory based on citizenship and care poverty that have not been published elsewhere, drawing on models that she developed herself.

Self-Care Theory and Translation to Intervention

Self-care is defined as a process of maintaining health through health promoting practices and managing illness when it occurs. Self-care is integral in the management of chronic conditions, but even those without illness engage in some level of self-care daily. In our on-going study we promote self-care as a means to control the stress associated with caregiving. We acknowledge the burden of caregiving for a loved one experiencing a serious chronic illness. That responsibility is typically associated with significant stress for the caregiver. We use stress theory to address the caregivers’ appraisal of events and coping responses. Three experienced health coaches were hired to provide 10 sessions of coaching over a 6-month period to each of the caregivers randomized to the intervention group. The emphasis of the iCare4Me coaching sessions is to address primary and secondary appraisal and coping as a means to improve self-care and thereby decrease stress.

The Effects of Theory-Based Intervention on Self-Care Ability and Complications in Female Patients with Cancer with Peripherally Inserted Central Catheters (PICCs)

Purpose To examine the effects of Orem’s self-care theory-based continuous nursing intervention on self-care ability and PICC related complications and adverse events rates of female patients with cancer in the intermission of chemotherapy.Methods A quasi-experimental study was adopted. Totally 130 female patients with cancer were recruited from October 2017 to March 2019 at a tertiary maternal hospital in Shanghai. They were randomly divided into the experimental group (n=65) and the control group (n=65). The experimental group accepted nursing intervention based on Orem’s self-care theory, which had five sessions, while the control group accepted routine intervention. The exercise of self-care agency (ESCA) and the rates of PICC related complications and adverse events were compared by Chi square test and two‐sample t test between two groups through IBM SPSS 20.0 statistics software.Results The results showed that before the intervention, the baseline of two groups did not differ significantly. After the intervention, four dimensions and total scores of ESCA in the experimental group were significantly improved compared with those in the control group (p < 0.05), and the rates of PICC related complications and adverse events were significantly decreased in the experimental group compared with those in the control group (p < 0.05).Conclusions Orem’s self-care theory-based continuous nursing intervention was effective in improving self-care ability and decreasing the rates of PICC related complications and adverse events. Consequently, using the intervention program for patients with PICC during the intermission of chemotherapy is recommended.

Perception of spirituality, religiosity, and euphemia in the light of hospitalized patients

Objective: to apprehend patients’ perception of spirituality, religiosity, and the practice of euphemia throughout hospitalization. Methods: qualitative research, conducted with 12 hospitalized patients. Data collection took place through individual interviews. The speeches were transcribed in full, submitted to thematic content analysis, and the discussion was based on the Transpersonal Care theory. Results: from the speeches, three categories emerged: Spirituality and religiosity: meaning and balm to human life; Benefits of the practice of euphemia in the hospital environment; Spirituality, religiosity, and euphemia in the art of nursing care: biopsychosocial triad in the patient’s perception. Conclusion: spirituality, religiosity, and euphemia were configured as a biopsychosocial triad capable of attributing meaning, foundation, and balm to human life. Also, it may encourage patients and nursing professionals to face the adversities of the hospital environment.

Can ECE professionals be advocates? Perspectives from the child care advocacy movement in Manitoba and Ontario

In this major research paper, findings from a qualitative study with fourteen informants from four child care social movement organizations (SMOs) in Manitoba and Ontario are presented. Using the political economy of care theory to interpret informant perspectives on early childhood educators (ECE) as advocates, the purpose of this study was to understand what role, if any, ECEs should play in provincial child care advocacy. Based on informant perspectives, the primary finding of this study is that ECE professionals can be advocates on the micro level, for children and families, within their own programs. This paper discusses informant perspectives on where we are in provincial child care advocacy, where we might be headed and what role ECEs can play in the continued fight for child care provisions that reflect values of inclusion, equality and a better Canada for all children, families and parents.

Can ECE professionals be advocates? Perspectives from the child care advocacy movement in Manitoba and Ontario

In this major research paper, findings from a qualitative study with fourteen informants from four child care social movement organizations (SMOs) in Manitoba and Ontario are presented. Using the political economy of care theory to interpret informant perspectives on early childhood educators (ECE) as advocates, the purpose of this study was to understand what role, if any, ECEs should play in provincial child care advocacy. Based on informant perspectives, the primary finding of this study is that ECE professionals can be advocates on the micro level, for children and families, within their own programs. This paper discusses informant perspectives on where we are in provincial child care advocacy, where we might be headed and what role ECEs can play in the continued fight for child care provisions that reflect values of inclusion, equality and a better Canada for all children, families and parents.

The development of Spiritual Nursing Care Theory using deductive axiomatic approach

The concepts of spirituality and spiritual well-being are not novel ideas as they have been subjects of scrutiny in several studies. However, there has yet to be a formalized framework of spiritual nursing in the Philippines despite its importance. Developing such a framework is significant, especially since holistic nursing believes in the relationships among body, mind, and spirit. Thus, the Spiritual Nursing Care theory was conceptualized, which states that every person has holistic needs, including spiritual needs that must be satisfied to attain spiritual well-being. It forwards that for the patient’s spiritual needs to be met, what is required is the triumvirate interconnection among the nurse, the external environment, and the spiritual nursing care which may be provided by the nurse as a healthcare provider and the significant others or family as part of the external environment. The theory has two propositions that were subjected to validation studies that either strengthened or repudiated the propositions presented: (1) the meaning of spirituality differs from person to person, and (2) the patient’s spiritual well-being is influenced by the nurse’s spiritual care competence, as well as the patient’s internal and external variables.