Uncovering the Meaning of Home Care Using an Arts-Based and Qualitative Approach

The need for home care is increasing in Canada, yet little is known about the home care experience of clients and their families. Uncovering the meaning of the home care experience is an important step towards developing understanding and public awareness. We explored the experiences of home care using arts-based methods and individual interviews with 11 participants (one client and 10 family caregivers). Participants discussed the numerous ways formal home care and family caregiving affected their lives, how they coped with these effects, their experiences in hospitals or assisted living facilities, and aspects of the home care experience they liked or disliked. Participants agreed that home care facilitated a better quality of life for families and clients, although they acknowledged some challenges with it. The artistic outputs produced by participants facilitated interview dialogue and fostered understanding of key themes within the research team.