Caring for the caretakers: the patient's family

The increasing complexity of health care, as well as life in general, in America places increasing burdens on families with ill members. The growing elderly, multigenerational, and multiresponsibility families, too much distance and too little time, too many demands, too few supports, and lack of resources strain family life when illness occurs. Yet illness is a family matter. The disease entities, body-altering operations, and prognoses of the patients managed by ET nurses are stressful for both patient and family. The ET nurse can play a central role in supporting the family in the quest for positive outcomes and quality for all. The case presentation demonstrates that appropriate assessment and intervention often go beyond dealing with the stoma. Family systems theory concepts are discussed as a theoretic framework for family intervention.