Foster caring in an era of COVID-19: the impact on personal self-care

Miller, J. Jay; Grise-Owens, Erlene

doi:10.1177/0308575921991950

Cited by 10 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…They found that factors such as gender, race, health and employment status affected self-care, with women, non-white/-Caucasian people, those with poor health and the unemployed reporting less self-care engagement than their peers. Miller and Grise-Owens (2021) also used the SCPS to explore the self-care practices of 1,229 foster carers in the US during the Covid-19 pandemic. Results showed that participants’ engagement with self-care was generally low and further decreased during the pandemic.…”

Section: Self-carementioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is worth noting that this study was conducted within the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. Among the foster carer population specifically, the pandemic has created increased childcare issues, carer distress, fear and financial issues (Whitt-Woosley, Sprang and Eslinger, 2022), all of which create a greater need for regular self-care to maintain wellbeing (Miller and Grise-Owens, 2021). This should be considered when interpreting the findings.…”

Section: Strengths and Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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An exploration of the self-care practices of foster carers in Australia

Gowan

Peel

Elcombe

et al. 2023

Adoption & Fostering

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Practising self-care is vital for foster carers to cope with the stresses of the caring role, provide the best care possible and continue in their task. This current study contributes to emerging research on the self-care practices of foster carers in Australia and worldwide. It used an exploratory design, surveying 148 foster carers about their self-care and conducting individual, semi-structured interviews enabling nine of them to elaborate on their self-care experiences. The results indicate that while the participants sometimes engage in self-care and value it as a way of maintaining their wellbeing and increasing their caregiving capacity, they face several barriers to doing this. These include the multiple responsibilities of the foster carer role, children’s commitments, employment and finances. Facilitators of self-care include social and family support, contact with other carers and carer respite. Foster care agencies and the out-of-home care system should aim to meet the self-care needs of carers by providing increased support, resources and education.

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Section: Self-carementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Strengths and Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

An exploration of the self-care practices of foster carers in Australia

Gowan

Peel

Elcombe

et al. 2023

Adoption & Fostering

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…These conditions were found to be exasperated by individual parent characteristics, such as being a sole caregiver and experiencing poorer mental health and greater financial insecurities (Miller et al, 2020). Another U.S. study found that foster parents engaged in fewer personal self-care practices since the beginning of the pandemic and that determinants included parental older age, poorer mental health status, and greater financial insecurity (Miller & Grise-Owens, 2021).…”

Section: Covid-19 and Resource Parentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The protective role of internal/external factors on Covid-19 related stressors among resource parents

Zak

Gallitto

Romano

2022

Developmental Child Welfare

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Background: The Covid-19 pandemic has had detrimental effects on almost everyone worldwide, but one particularly vulnerable group are resource parents (foster and kinship) and the young people in out-of-home care. Resource parents have experienced the same increases in pandemic-related stressors as other parents but have the added challenge of caring for a young person involved with child welfare. There are, however, various possible protective factors that have been found to positively influence families during times of stress. Methods: We examined how internal (family functioning/resilience and emotion regulation) and external (parent/child welfare worker relationship and social supports) resource parent protective factors are related to the degree of perceived stressors experienced due to the pandemic. A sample of 47 resource parents from the province of Ontario (Canada) caring for a young person between 4 and 17 years old completed an online questionnaire. Results: Multiple regression analyses showed that a higher quality relationship between resource parents and child welfare workers was associated with lower perceived pandemic-related stressors. Higher parent emotion regulation was also found to be associated with a significant decrease in resource parents’ perceived stressors. Conclusion: Overall, resource parents experienced an increase in pandemic-related stressors. However, both internal and external protective factors could be associated with a decrease in experienced stressors. Impact: This study used a strengths-based approach and showed the importance of a positive resource parent and child welfare worker relationship as well as effective parental emotion regulation strategies during times of stress.

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“…The authors suggest that the foster parents’ stress has ramifications for the children’s care, as it places a strain on their family interactions. A US survey reported that self-care practices significantly decreased among foster parents after the start of the pandemic, notably among those who were not married, employed outside their home, had poor mental and physical health, and were financially unstable (Miller & Grise-Owens, 2021). The strain experienced by foster parents has increased because respite care and other child care services are often nonexistent due to physical distancing measures and ill-health (Caldwell et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Keeping families afloat: Foster carer’s parenting experiences during COVID-19 in Ghana and implications for practice

Frimpong‐Manso

Cudjoe

Abdullah

et al. 2021

Developmental Child Welfare

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Formal foster care is a relatively new phenomenon in Ghana. The practice is in conformity with international and national policy guidelines to deinstitutionalize and strengthen family-based care for children without adequate parental care. In addition to the known challenges of foster parenting in Ghana (stigma, financial challenges and emotional strain, inexperience of the foster parents), the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19 restrictions may worsen caregivers’ burden and negatively affect children in care. This study explored how foster parents are meeting their caregiving demands during the COVID-19 pandemic in the face of existing and new challenges. Following a participatory practice research approach, a co-constructed interview guide by the researchers and a practitioner was used to conduct in-depth telephone interviews with 13 foster parents. Findings from thematic analysis of the interviews showed challenges, including increased cost of caregiving and multiple caregiving duties as challenges facing foster parents whereas children’s knowledge about the virus, informal support and religious beliefs collectively enhanced caregiving during the pandemic. The findings provide learning about ways to alleviate parenting challenges for foster parents during and after the pandemic. Specifically, interventions that view children as actors for change and strengthen community and religious bodies to deliver psychosocial services would be useful to improve foster parenting.

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Foster caring in an era of COVID-19: the impact on personal self-care

Cited by 10 publications

References 24 publications

An exploration of the self-care practices of foster carers in Australia

An exploration of the self-care practices of foster carers in Australia

The protective role of internal/external factors on Covid-19 related stressors among resource parents

Keeping families afloat: Foster carer’s parenting experiences during COVID-19 in Ghana and implications for practice

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