Using nursing research to assess families managing complex home care.

Families have become "health care systems" by providing physical, emotional and social home care for their loved ones dependent on technology. Examples of home technology equipment include renal dialysis, mechanical ventilation for sleep apnea, electronic apnea monitoring for premature infants, intravenous infusions of antibiotics, hyperalimentation, or narcotics and spinal infusions for pain relief. There is much more to the 24 hours of family involvement than the actual bedside physical care. For example, some of the activities a family would need to do for a patient with an intravenous infusion of antibiotics is: go grocery shopping, setup the infusion, cleanse the infusion site, walk the dog, prepare meals, order supplies, clean the house, and check equipment for expiration dates. All the "health care systems" responsibilities become "home care systems" the family must initiate and successfully complete.