Perceived Support Needs of Family Caregivers and Implications for a Telephone Support Service

The purposes of this study were: to identify the perceived support needs of family care-givers of persons living with chronic illness (physical or cognitive) and receiving home-care services, and to describe the types of telephone services that would meet the expressed needs of caregivers. The qualitative design used semi-structured interviews. A total of 34 caregivers (mean age 62 years) participated in the study. The care recipients (mean age 78 years) were primarily the husband/wife or parent of the caregiver. The most commonly expressed caregiver needs were: a social life, instrumental support (e.g., respite, assistance with physical care, financial compensation), informational support, and