Interdisciplinary intervention plan on the informal caregiver – a mixed methods study

Abstract

Abstract Background An Interdisciplinary Intervention Plan (IIP) for the informal caregiver (IC) aims to primarily assess the health and social needs felt by the IC in caring for the person being cared for. Consequently, after the development and implementation of the IIP, as a result, professionals may intervene, trying to meet these needs and allow a higher quality of life for both. The study aims to assess the IIP implementation process and content validity. Specific objectives: i) Analyse the perception of the professionals who use the IIP and ii) Assess the users' agreement concerning the IIP items. Methods The IIP consists of a first part characterizing the IC and the person being cared for, and then, a second part consisting of 49 items divided into 6 domains. The implementation of the IIP was carried out by an interdisciplinary team in each municipality of the Autonomous Region of the Azores that includes professionals from the health and social areas. A mixed approach was used to analyze professionals' perceptions, using focus group content analysis for qualitative research, a Content Validity Index (I-CVI), and a modified k for quantitative research. Results In the Clinical Professional Perceptions of IIP, two dimensions emerged from the content analysis. The first was "The IIP implementation process" where the categories "Need for logistical support" and "Reinforced interdisciplinarity" emerged. The second dimension “The functional content and organization of the IIP" where the categories: "Responses to the needs of IC", "Need to manage the expectations of the caregivers", "Opportunities for improvement in the content of the IIP " and "Computerization of the IIP" emerged. The analysis of the professionals' agreement, demonstrated that most items were rated as "Excellent" for their relevance (91.8%) and their formulation (95.9%), being assumed their comprehensibility. Concerning relevance two items were classified as "poor": "Information and Communication Technologies" and "Accessibility to another division". Another 2 items were rated as "reasonable": "Promote participation in socialization activities" and "Volunteering". Conclusions The results show the validation of the IIP, proceeding with the necessary changes according to the results obtained, to become a tool available to professionals in the home care context.

Keywords

• Informal caregiver
• Intervention plan
• Validation studies
• Home care services
• Interdisciplinary studies