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Policy makers in Sweden and other European Member States pay increasing attention as to how best support working carers; carers juggling providing unpaid family care for older family members while performing paid work. Exploring perceived benefits and challenges with web-based information and communication technologies as a means of supporting working carers' in their caregiving role, this paper draws on findings from a qualitative study. The study aimed to describe working carers' experiences of having access to the web-based family care support network 'A good place' ( AGP) provided by the municipality to support those caring for an older family member. Content analysis of interviews with nine working carers revealed three themes: A support hub, connections to peers, personnel and knowledge; Experiencing ICT support as relevant in changing life circumstances; and Upholding one's personal firewall. Findings indicate that the web-based family care support network AGP is an accessible, complementary means of support. Utilising support while balancing caregiving, work obligations and responsibilities was made easier with access to AGP; enabling working carers to access information, psychosocial support and learning opportunities. In particular, it provided channels for carers to share experiences with others, to be informed, and to gain insights into medical and care issues. This reinforced working carers' sense of competence, helping them meet caregiving demands and see positive aspects in their situation. Carers' low levels of digital skills and anxieties about using computer-based support were barriers to utilising web-based support and could lead to deprioritising of this support. However, to help carers overcome these barriers and to better match web-based support to working carers' preferences and situations, web-based support must be introduced in a timely manner and must more accurately meet each working carer's unique caregiving needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Intensive care of children means not only caring for a child; it means care for the whole family. Aim: The aim of the study was to describe parents' experiences of having a critically ill child in an intensive care unit (ICU). Participants: A purposive sample of seven parents who had their child treated in an ICU during 2012 in Sweden. Design: The design uses an inductive, qualitative approach with data collected by means of qualitative interviews. Methods: The interviews were transcribed verbatim and subjected to qualitative content analysis. Results: The analysis resulted in one theme: the desire of parents to be involved and present, with four categories such as wanting to understand and know what is happening, feeling frustration about their child's care and treatment, a health care environment that arouses emotions, and needs for support and processing. Conclusion: It is of great importance to parents to be informed continuously about their child's condition and the care and treatment that are planned. This may increase parents' sense of ownership, control and security. Relevance to clinical practice: Providing answers to those questions that can be answered and being available to parents when they have questions about their critically ill child, the meaning of it all, and what the future will hold are suggested in clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction In earlier research as well as in political discussion and documents, the topic of evidence has been highlighted as one of the most important concerns in nursing care. This study focuses on understanding what lies behind nurses' ways of acting regarding evidence-based nursing through an illumination of the way they perceive the phenomena. Aim The aim was to identify and describe the different ways municipal care nurses perceive aspects of working with evidence when nursing frail older adults. Methods An explorative design with a phenomenographic approach based on interviews with nurses working with home-based care within the municipality was used in order to gain understanding of nurse's perceptions of the phenomena. Results Findings revealed that the nurses perceived a variety of aspects when working with evidence when nursing frail older people. Aspects with a spectra of different perceptions shown in the analysis were as follows: Evidence-based nursing as a desired intention/mission, lack of practical supporting structures to apply evidence, lack of confidence in own capacity to apply evidence and a belief that it will work anyway. Conclusions Findings reveal that it is a challenge to implement research both on an individual as well as on an organisational level. Understanding the contextual perceptions of evidence by nurses can cast light on the barriers as well as the prerequisites of working with evidence while caring for frail older adults in municipal care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]