The Situation of Caring Relatives

As soon as somebody is in need of care, it's still most often their family taking on the responsibility. Care provided by a family member is a special kind which relies upon mutuality, emotionality and existing social ties between the individuals involved. Family-based care not only concerns the affected families but also society as a whole, as has a dominant role in how care is provided to people in need. Thus family-based care has evoked the interest of politics, the science community and different welfare state institutions. The last Austrian assessment study of family members conducting care was done in 2005. This study aims to again shed some light on those persons. The main goal of this study is to give insights on the living and care conditions of those providing care to a family member. The main focus is on the home-based setting but some institutional settings will be assessed as well. The final outcome should be to devise support measures for affected persons in Austria based upon the results of this study. Methodologically, the study is a) based on a quantitative-descriptive procedure (questionnaire). This will describe the situation of caring relatives, based on a randomized sample of care-money receivers and caregivers in Austria. And b) on a qualitative-interpretative approach using qualitative interviews) for an in-depth look at the affected perspective of caring families in different contexts and under different family conditions.