Family carers 3: coping strategies among family carers in Sweden

Abstract

This is the third of four articles considering various aspects of family care giving in Sweden. The previous articles (Vol 8(9): 582–588; Vol 8(10): 647–652) have looked at the difficulties carers face and their sources of satisfaction from what they do. This, the final empirical article, presents data from the same group of carers on the coping strategies and tactics that they use. It demonstrates that carers often employ a complex range of coping behaviours and it is suggested that healthcare professionals, particularly nurses, must be aware of and seek to complement carers' coping patterns if more appropriate and sensitive services are to be developed.