The Care Continues: Responsibility for Elderly Relatives Before and After Admission to a Long Term Care Facility*

Interviews with 214 family members are analyzed to investigate how caregiving changes from the community to the long term care (ltc) facility and to understand family member's responsibility toward elderly relatives in ltc facilities. Family responsibilities can be categorized as ‘indirect' including an overseer of care or ‘direct' including performing specific tasks. Findings suggest that emotional support needs to be incorporated into measures of caregiving. Research implications include the need for increased education for family on health care issues and a greater recognition of their resourcefulness for staff.