Compassionate Care Benefit Pre-Implementation Knowledge Tool Development for Canadian Social Workers: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

<p>Increasingly, informal caregivers are providing hospice palliative care and support to dying friends and family members. These individuals must often negotiate multiple roles and responsibilities as a result of being caregivers and members of the paid labour force. Canada’s federal government has recognized the burden placed on informal caregivers, and legislated the Compassionate Care Benefit (CCB) in 2004. The CCB allows informal caregivers providing hospice palliative care six paid weeks off work to alleviate some of the role strain in the provision of care. Evaluations of the CCB have recognized that the low program uptake has been primarily the result of a lack of awareness. As such, knowledge translation campaigns about the CCB are needed. Stakeholders interviewed, including family caregivers, front-line palliative providers, and employers, have suggested that Canadian social workers are the primary group in need of a targeted knowledge campaign. This research presents the results of the development of a two-stage knowledge translation intervention for social workers. First, the development of appropriate interventions are explored through a qualitative messaging survey (<em>n</em>=16), a focus group (<em>n</em>=8) and key informant interviews (<em>n</em>=3). Preferred intervention formats and messages are identified, and draft knowledge tools are created. Secondly, draft knowledge tools are piloted in workplaces by social workers (<em>n</em>=8), the results of which are captured through participant interviews. The refinement period suggested some of the constraints of space and time on knowledge translation about the CCB and tool use. Hägerstrand’s time geography is explored in relation to tool use and knowledge translation. The research presented herein is relevant to policy makers, program planners, clinicians and researchers working with the fields of hospice palliative care, social work and knowledge translation. This research makes contributions to the knowledge translation and intervention development literatures through the presentation of novel methodologies and the application of time geography.</p>