This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Ray, L. D. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Ray, L. D. Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

The Social and Political Conditions that Shape Special-Needs Parenting

University of Alberta, Lynne.Ray{at}ualberta.ca

This article presents the findings of a secondary analysis of data from 30 interviews with parents who are raising children with chronic health conditions. Using Giddens’s structuration theory, the social and institutional conditions that shape special-needs parenting are examined. The conditions include professional attitudes, categorical allocation of services, lack of information, poor service coordination, school access challenges, societal perceptions of disability, responsibility debates, the feminization of family care giving, public reliance of family care, and the status of everyday parenting. Illustrations of how these issues affect families’everyday lives are provided along with a discussion of the implications for child-and family-friendly services and public policy and for social action.

Key Words: pediatric chronic illness • childhood disability • family caregiving • pediatric home care • health care delivery • social stigma • health care financing

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?