Parental and carer expertise sought for New Zealand research

Janet McDonald, a PhD student (and a parent of a disabled child) is seeking research participants who have first-hand knowledge of technical health procedures. She writes:

You are invited to take part in a study about family carers who are doing technical health procedures at home. Family carers are people who help or support a family member who is ill, disabled or frail elderly.

Technical health procedures include such things as –

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    • renal dialysis
    • urinary catheterisation
    • intravenous therapy
    • injections
    • caring for a bowel or bladder stoma/ostomy
    • enteral or parenteral nutrition (e.g. PEG feeding or naso-gastric tube feeding)
    • managing a tracheostomy, ventilator or oxygen therapy
    • enemas or bowel washouts
    • wound care and dressings
    • some physiotherapy procedures.

We don't know much about what it's like for (largely) 'lay' people to take on managing these kinds of procedures, or how professionals like nurses teach them. The purpose of this research is to find out about carers' experiences and learning in order to inform professionals about how they can best support family carers in this situation.

Would you be willing to be interviewed about your experiences? If so, and to find out more about the study, please e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.