Abstract
Our work aims at enhancing the quality of home caregiving for vulnerable patients. This objective is assessedvia a multidimensional study evaluating psychological characteristics of home caregiving, and also theconsequences of these acts on mental health and quality of life.Our data show that the structure of home caregiving is mainly of medical significance. A significance thatresponds to expectations of patients and their caregivers, and also the social interactions between both caregivingactors. We hence conclude that the actual structure of home caregiving does not refers to “right answers” andstill widely underused. Furthermore, the expert caregivers are likely to lack structuring of their competencies, asrelated to their know-how and life skills. These professionals show great difficulties expressing 1) the nature oftheir professional experience and 2) the complexity of some of their tasks. Another finding of our work is relatedto a high risk of home accidents which induces an important level of alertness. This outcome fits with a detailedanalysis of caregivers’ needs. Finally, our work highlights some recommendations for a better home caregivingfor vulnerable populations and their families. It seems that taking into account the collective experience of thecaregiving environment would address the deleterious effects of home caregiving, which may enhance thequality and efficiency of such intervention.