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| The Family Care Research Program
(FCRP) is a collaborative, interdisciplinary effort of faculty from
the Michigan State University Colleges of Nursing
and Human Medicine and the Department
of Family Practice.
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| Faculty
Research Team | Purpose of the Program of Research
| Research Community |
Important Findings from this Research | Importance to the University & Human Health Programs | Importance to Policy for Family Care in the home | FCRP Participants Importance to the Academic Community | Policy Implications | Research Developments |
| THE FACULTY RESEARCH TEAM
Charles W. Given, Ph.D., Professor. View Biosketch: Click Here THE PURPOSE OF THE PROGRAM OF RESEARCH  This program of research seeks to further understanding of the needs of patients with chronic illness and their family members. The focus of research for patients relates to symptom management, emotional health, and physical functioning. Costs of care is also relevant. Recent work has focused on implementing randomized clinical trials to try to reduce patient problems. These have been primarily those with cancer and other chronic illnesses and the aging individual in general. Over time, family caregivers provide the majority of continuing and supportive patient care and take primary responsibility for the management of symptoms, assistance with physical function, the administration of complex treatments, and many other care tasks, including personal and intimate care, emotional health, decisions and judgments about care, and the supervision and monitoring of treatment effects and overall patient health status. This research also seeks to analyze the impact that providing care on a daily basis, for months and often years, has on the patient and the family caregiver. The interventions have been designed to alter the negative impact on patient symptoms, functional status, caregiver distress from care, health system utilization, and cost. RESEARCH COMMUNITY
IMPORTANT FINDINGS FROM THIS RESEARCH Identification of points in the course of illness when patients and families need assistance, e.g.,:
Direct and physical care may not be the most stressful care provided. Supervision, symptom management, dealing with disruptive behaviors, and monitoring of patients are demanding for caregivers and are often more distressing than skills and procedures. Caregivers are also burdened mentally and emotionally. Although recent FCRP studies show that caregivers are not readily accessing available community services, caregivers need to gain access for support and aid in providing and understanding patient care. Caregivers change their employment situation, quit work, or are forced into early retirement in order to provide care. Family labor is equivalent in value to annual nursing home costs. Out-of-pocket expenses can be financially difficult (e.g., costs of transportation, medication). Caucasian primary caregivers are likely to establish different care patterns than African-American caregivers when faced with an identical care situation. While there is a primary family caregiver in all populations, caucasian families are more likely than African-American families to include a secondary care provider in the care process. Pain and fatigue are critical symptoms and occur with more other symptoms, decreased physical functioning, and depression. IMPORTANCE OF RESEARCH TO THE UNIVERSITY AND HUMAN HEALTH PROGRAMS
Originally a land-grant agricultural college, Michigan State University has become a major research setting. The priorities and values of the institution include educational excellence, the scholarly quest for knowledge, academic freedom, integrity, creativity, fairness, and respect. Excellence is a continuing tradition at this innovative, research-intensive university. The FCRP has brought more than 25 million dollars in direct and almost 6 million dollars in indirect funds to the University in the past 24 years. These funds have provided important support for faculty and salaries for undergraduate and graduate students from departments such as Journalism, Epidemiology, Family Ecology, Advertising Psychology, Computer Science, and English and, most frequently, colleges such as Nursing and Human Medicine. This program of research, through on-going contact with patients, their families, community service programs, and hospitals across Michigan, demonstrates the concern of Michigan State University and its Health Programs in addressing the long-term care needs of chronically ill individuals and their care-providing families, especially those with cancer. Translating the outcomes from this research to practice is critical. IMPORTANCE OF THE PROGRAM OF RESEARCH TO THE ACADEMIC COMMUNITY
FAMILY CARE RESEARCH PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS Dr. Barbara Given is a University Distinguished Professor in the College of Nursing and a Senior Research Scientist with the Institute for Health Care Studies at Michigan State University. Dr. Given has been actively involved in research in long-term care, home care, chronic illness and family care for over 25 years with funding from the National Cancer Institute, National Institute on Mental Health, National Institute for Nursing Research, National Institute on Aging, Walther Cancer Institute, Michigan Department of Community Health, and the American Cancer Society to explore these issues. Topics of research center around functional outcomes, symptom control, patterns of care, utilization of care, and formal and informal cost of care for the chronically ill and their family caregivers, especially those with cancer. She is a reviewer for numerous professional journals and currently serves on the Editorial Board for Research in Nursing and Health, and Cancer Nursing. She has served as a grant reviewer for AHCPR, Psychosocial Research for the American Cancer Society, National Cancer Institute, NINR, Department of Defense, National Institute of Aging, California Cancer Research Program, and the Alzheimer’s Association of Canada. Barbara Given testified to the President’s Breast Cancer Commission and the President’s Cancer Panel for Older Populations in 1997 and served on the Institute of Medicine’s Department of Defense Panel to decide on priorities for breast cancer research funding. She serves on the Breast Cancer Integrating Panel for the Department of Defense and the psychosocial committee for NSABP. She also served on the Blue Ribbon Panel for ACS to set direction for research for Behavioral and Psychosocial Research. She serves on the Executive Committee of the Behavioral Cooperative Oncology Group of the Walther Cancer Institute. In 1994, she was the American Nursing Foundation Distinguished Researcher Award Recipient and in 1995, the ONS Distinguished Researcher and the Michigan Association of Governing Boards Distinguished Faculty Award recipient. In 2000, she received the College of Nursing Alumni Lifetime Achievement Award at Michigan State University. In 2001, she received the University Distinguished Professor award, the Sigma Theta Tau Elizabeth Williams Miller Award for Excellence in Research and the Friends of the National Institute for Nursing Research Pathfinder Distinguished Researcher Award. Dr. Charles Given is a Professor in the Department of Family Practice at Michigan State University and Senior Scientist at the Walther Cancer Institute. Dr. Given has been actively involved in research in long-term care, home care for chronic illnesses including cancer, focusing on symptom clusters, health services issues and physical function. He has 25 years of consecutive funding from NIH, including the National Cancer Institute, National Institute on Mental Health, National Institute for Nursing Research, National Institute on Aging, Walther Cancer Institute, Michigan Department of Community Health, and the American Cancer Society. Dr. Given is an active member of the Gerontology Society of America and the Association for Health Services Research. Dr. Given is a reviewer for numerous professional journals and has served as a grant reviewer for AHCPR, NCI NINR, Department of Defense, and NIA. Dr. Given testified to the President’s Cancer Panel for Special Populations in 1998. Dr. Given received the Distinguished Faculty Award from Michigan State in 1997. Topics of research center around functional and mental health outcomes, symptom control, patterns of care, utilization of care, and formal and informal cost of care. Dr. Given received the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation Excellence in Research Award for Physicians. IMPORTANCE TO POLICY FOR FAMILY CARE IN
THE HOME This research provides information for policy as related to:
By identifying the total costs of initial and primary treatment incurred by third-party payers and by patients and families, this research can document:
POLICY IMPLICATIONS
In order to implement key elements of these findings, several research variables should be considered:
MSU is an affirmative-action,
equal-opportunity institution. |
