Family issues in home-based care.

In Australia, home-based care for the chronically ill is increasing. Technological advances and increased economic constraints are often cited as the reasons for the increase in home-based treatments. Exploring the development of home-based care, in particular home-based dialysis, using a case-study approach provided an opportunity to identify the issues of families involved in home care. Issues that emerged included: (i) the development of the home-based clinic; (ii) the role of women; (iii) social isolation; (iv) and the lack of effective support from general practitioners and health services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]