'Call me if you need': Social support experiences under economic and social change

Social interactions play an important role in people's life and people's health but their scope and intensity tend to decrease with age, challenging social support dynamics and increasing the risk of social isolation and helplessness. In Portugal, policymakers still seem to rely on traditi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social work in health care 2018-10, Vol.57 (9), p.794-810
Main Authors: Szczygiel, Nina, Santana, Silvina
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acute services
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Attachment
Caregivers
Cluster Analysis
Economic change
Family
Family roles
Female
Financial support
Friends
Friendship
Helplessness
Home Care Services
Humans
Informal care
Interpersonal Relations
Male
Middle Aged
Neighbors
older adult
Patients
Policy making
Portugal
Social Change
Social dynamics
Social groups
Social interaction
Social isolation
Social relations
Social Support
Social systems
stroke
Stroke - psychology
Stroke - therapy
Support networks
Work organization
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Summary:Social interactions play an important role in people's life and people's health but their scope and intensity tend to decrease with age, challenging social support dynamics and increasing the risk of social isolation and helplessness. In Portugal, policymakers still seem to rely on traditional social relations in eldercare, while contextual changes and trends are redefining family roles and behaviors and defying the established social support structure. In this work, we aim to examine the scope, structure and experiences of the informal social support network available in the country for stroke patients 6 months after their discharge from the acute care unit in the context of a larger study. The results seem to confirm the importance of family as a source of social support and shed light on different bonding experiences with non-kin social groups, such as neighbors and friends. A coordinated care provision, combining formal and informal support is vital and beneficial for patients, their caregivers and the care system.
ISSN:0098-1389
1541-034X
DOI:10.1080/00981389.2018.1508112