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Supporting families over the life course: mapping temporality
1School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK. g.grant@sheffield.ac.uk
Background:
The present paper addresses a rather neglected dimension of family caregiving, its temporality. Many accounts of caregiving assume a state of stasis, and therefore, overlook factors which shape the evolving experience of family caregiving over the life course.
Methods:
The paper begins by offering some reflections on theoretical and methodological issues identified by life-course researchers.
Results:
Based both on theoretical propositions and a growing body of empirical evidence, this paper offers a heuristic for thinking about caregiving stages applied to families supporting people with intellectual disability.
Conclusions:
This heuristic is used to suggest further avenues of research and development.