Continued Involvement: A Scoping Review on Family Members' Needs and Experiences Collaborating With Support Staff for...

Area of Science:

• Disability Studies
• Healthcare Collaboration
• Family Caregiving

Background:

• Family involvement in care often extends beyond the home.
• Little is known about family members' needs when collaborating with support staff.
• This review addresses the gap in understanding family-staff collaboration in residential care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a scoping review of existing literature.
• To identify the needs and experiences of family members collaborating with support staff.
• To inform future research on family-staff collaboration in residential care.

Main Methods:

• Systematic search of seven databases (April 2022, updated May 2025).
• Inclusion of English, peer-reviewed studies on family members' collaboration with support staff.
• Thematic synthesis of data from ten included articles, assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool.

Main Results:

• Ten articles met inclusion criteria, covering diverse family experiences and intellectual disability levels.
• Four analytical themes emerged: relationship complexities, addressing unmet needs, desire for partnership, and quality of life concerns.
• Key findings highlight challenges in building relationships and unmet needs, alongside a desire for partnership and recognition.

Conclusions:

• Future research should explore how family characteristics, disability severity, and living arrangements influence collaboration.
• Further insight is needed into the dynamic nature of family-staff relationships.
• Understanding support staff perspectives is vital for developing sensitive and effective collaboration strategies.