RESEARCH ARTICLE


Germany’s First Young Carers Project’s Impact on the Children: Relieving the Entire Family. A Qualitative Evaluation



Jörg große Schlarmann*, Sabine Metzing, Susanne Schoppmann, Wilfried Schnepp
Department Nursing Science, Witten/Herdecke University, Stockumer Straß e 12, D-58453 Witten, Germany

Article Information


Identifiers and Pagination:

Year: 2011
Volume: 5
First Page: 86
Last Page: 94
Publisher ID: TONURSJ-5-86
DOI: 10.2174/1874434601105010086
PMID: 22135716
PMCID: PMC3227871

Article History:

Received Date: 12/7/2011
Revision Received Date: 5/9/2011
Acceptance Date: 16/9/2011
Electronic publication date: 26/10/2011
Collection year: 2011

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Creative Commons License
© Schlarmann et al.; Licensee Bentham Open.

open-access license: This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.

* Address correspondence to this author at the Department Nursing Science, Witten/Herdecke University, Stockumer Straße 12, D-58453 Witten, Germany; Tel: ++49-2302-926-377; Fax: ++49-2302-926-318; E-mail: Joerg.grosseSchlarmann@uni-wh.de


Abstract

Background:

In 2009, the first German young carers project “SupaKids” was implemented in a large German city. The project’s concept was mainly based on findings of a prior Grounded Theory study, and the concept’s aim was to focus on supporting enrolled families (especially the children) in order to prevent negative effects. Quantitative as well as qualitative data have been assessed for the project’s evaluation. In this paper, first results on the mainly qualitative evaluation concerning the project’s impact are presented.

Results:

The project has an impact on the entire family. Both parents and children perceive the project as a kind of shelter, where they a) are allowed to be as they are, b) don’t have to explain themselves, c) meet others in similar situations, d) may deposit their sorrows, e) have a first port of call for any problem, f) experience a hiatus from the domestic situation, and g) find friends and peers. All enrolled families value this shelter as a copious relief.

Conclusions:

The project’s concept has delivered an optimal performance in practice: the family-orientation seems to be appropriate, the concept’s modules seem to be all-embracing, and the modular body of the concept has been confirmed. The project relieves the entire family.

Trial Registration Number: NCT00734942.

Keywords: Young-carers, evaluation, complex intervention.