Empowering families of the chronically ill: a partnership experience in a hospital setting

An intervention model has been developed which teaches family members, in partnership with social workers, to obtain and monitor services for their chronically ill elderly relatives. The research site is a Boston teaching hospital with a patient population that is ethnically and racially diverse. Initial results of the study reveal that case management is easily accepted by most families, and the partnership between the family member and social worker enhances the delivery of needed services.