Baby Boom caregivers: care in the age of individualization.

PURPOSE: Many Baby Boomers are faced with the care of aging parents, as well as that of disabled or ill spouses or children. This study examines how Baby Boomers in Quebec, Canada, perceive and play their role as caregivers and how this might differ from their parents' generation. DESIGN AND METHODS: This was a qualitative and empirical study using an interpretive constructivist design. We interviewed 39 Baby Boomers caring for a family member with a semistructured guide that examined respondents' identification with their social generation, their relationship to and values regarding caregiving, and the reality of the caregiving they offered. RESULTS: In contrast to our perceptions of previous generations, the majority of interviewees refuse to be confined to the sole identity of caregiver, as they work to juggle caregiving, work, family, and social commitments. To succeed in this juggling act, they have high expectations of support from services. Based on this new approach to caregiving, we advance the idea of a "denaturalization" of care, no longer seen as a "natural" destiny or "normal" family responsibility. IMPLICATIONS: The new conception of caregiving as work that can and should be shared with services is in direct opposition to public policy that is based on the assumption of family care as the cornerstone of long-term care. Can the healthcare system adapt to the new expectations of the Baby Boom generation or will these caregivers be forced to take on elements of caregiving they no longer consider legitimate?

Social care interface in early-stage dementia: practitioners' perspectives on the links between formal and informal networks.

OBJECTIVE: Although issues of complementarity and coordination between health care institutions have recently generated great interest, few scholars have studied the thorny interface between formal and informal service networks. This exploratory study investigates the interface between health care practitioners and caregivers of people with Alzheimer's disease living in the community. METHOD: Using Pescosolido's multilevel network model and Martuccelli's sociology of the individual, the authors interviewed 20 practitioners drawn from seven urban groups and analyzed contacts between practitioners and caregivers at the beginning of the care trajectory. RESULTS: The quality of the practitioner-caregiver interface was determined by the players' profiles, internal structures, and external links. Heterogeneous professional groups and the establishment of contacts in the early stages of dementia seemed beneficial. DISCUSSION: The problematic interface between formal and informal service networks could be improved by a greater understanding of microsocial- and organizational-level interactions and implementing a social model of care.