Who cares? Acknowledgement and needs of students living with a chronically ill family member

Background: studies show that adolescents living with a chronically ill family member experience significant pressure and symptoms like stress and depression related to their care situation. Students in a similar situation often experience delay or drop out of their studies when the combination of caring and studying gets too demanding. Evidence based support interventions for this group are poorly known. This study aims to identify characteristics of this group, to map its needs and to evaluate adequacy of current support.
Method: An explanatory sequential design is used. Around 6000 students from the Northern Netherlands were invited to participate in a survey. The survey aimed to identify the number of students living in a care situation, incidence of stress related symptoms and needs regarding support. Through the survey, students could indicate their willingness to participate in focus groups from which qualitative data was gathered. This will be used to further explain quantitative findings, using both deductive and inductive analysis.
Results: The survey yielded 234 students living with a chronically ill family member. The average age of the participants was 21,2 years (SD 2,2). Female nursing students made up the majority (62%). 52,9% of participants exhibited symptoms and 59,7% of these students hadn’t had any contact with a health care professional.
Conclusion: The results of the survey and the focus groups (due December 2017) will be presented to provide insight into identifiable characteristics of students involved in a care situation, their support needs and adequacy of current support.