Biomaterial Database

Families helping families: an innovative approach to the provision of respite care for families of children with complex medical needs. 1995

S Mausner

Brookline Visiting Nurse Service, Auburndale, MA 02166, USA.

Over the past thirty years, rapid advances in medical technologies have resulted in a marked increase in the numbers of children surviving with significant medical and developmental difficulties. The general trend in society away from institutional care, in conjunction with these technological advances, has resulted in the expectation that parents will provide care at home for children with significant disabilities, often in the absence of adequate social service supports. This article describes a family support project, Families Helping Families, which implemented a cost-effective, family-centered approach to the provision of respite care for children with complex medical needs. The paper presents the role of the social worker in developing and implementing the program. Barriers to more widespread implementation of the model, both in the state system and within the medical community, are also described.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007223	Infant	A child between 1 and 23 months of age.	Infants
D008297	Male		Males
D008404	Massachusetts	State bounded on the north by New Hampshire and Vermont, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Connecticut and Rhode Island, and on the west by New York.
D012144	Respite Care	Patient care provided in the home or institution intermittently in order to provide temporary relief to the family home care giver.	In-Home Respite,In-Home Respite Care,Care, In-Home Respite,Care, Respite,In Home Respite,In Home Respite Care,In-Home Respite Cares,Respite Care, In-Home,Respite Cares,Respite, In-Home
D002648	Child	A person 6 to 12 years of age. An individual 2 to 5 years old is CHILD, PRESCHOOL.	Children
D002662	Child Health Services	Organized services to provide health care for children.	Infant Health Services,Child Services, Health,Health Services, Child,Health Services, Infant,Infant Services, Health,Services, Child Health,Services, Infant Health,Child Health Service,Health Service, Child,Health Service, Infant,Infant Health Service,Service, Child Health,Service, Infant Health
D002675	Child, Preschool	A child between the ages of 2 and 5.	Children, Preschool,Preschool Child,Preschool Children
D005190	Family	A social group consisting of parents or parent substitutes and children.	Family Life Cycles,Family Members,Family Life Cycle,Family Research,Filiation,Kinship Networks,Relatives,Families,Family Member,Kinship Network,Life Cycle, Family,Life Cycles, Family,Network, Kinship,Networks, Kinship,Research, Family
D005260	Female		Females
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man