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Equity Matters: Doing Fairness in the Context of Family Caregiving

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 March 2010

Bonnie Lashewicz ,
Gerald Manning ,
Margaret Hall  and
Norah Keating
Bonnie Lashewicz*
Affiliation:
Grant MacEwan College
Gerald Manning
Affiliation:
University of Guelph
Margaret Hall
Affiliation:
University of British Columbia
Norah Keating
Affiliation:
University of Alberta
*
Requests for offprints should be sent to:/Les demandes de tirés-à-part doivent être adressées à : Bonnie Lashewicz, Ph.D., Faculty of Health and Community Studies, Grant MacEwan College, South Campus Room 169, 7319 - 29 Avenue, Edmonton, AB T6K 2P1. ([email protected])
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Abstract

Although family scholars conceptualize caregiving in terms of networks of carers, little attention has been given to equity within these groups. Siblings comprise a prevalent caregiving network of members who feel responsible for parent care, expect to share these responsibilities with each other, and look to each other to evaluate the fairness of their sharing. In this paper, a multidisciplinary approach is used to examine sibling views of equity in relation to disputes over giving parent care and receiving parent assets. A literary perspective is offered through analysis of stepsibling tensions depicted in the novel Family Matters. Real life disputes among biological siblings that have been pursued through the courts are also examined. Issues arising from these examples are then analysed through the lens of legal doctrines of equity. Siblings evaluating fairness undertake careful comparisons of their respective relationships with parents in terms of biological links to parents and type and extent of influence in interactions with parents.

Résumé

Bien que les spécialistes des études familiales voient la dispensation de soins familiaux sous l'angle de réseaux d'aidants, peu d'entre eux se sont penchés sur la question de l'équité au sein de ces groupes. La fratrie constitue un réseau de dispensation de soins formé de membres qui se sentent responsables de la prise en charge du parent, qui s'attendent à partager ces responsabilités entre eux et qui évaluent ensemble le caractère équitable de ce partage. l'article rend compte d'une démarche multidisciplinaire adoptée pour examiner le point de vue des membres de la fratrie sur l'équité dans les désaccords au sujet de la prestation des soins familiaux et la disposition de l'actif du parent. l'article prend une tournure littéraire en analysant les tensions entre frères et sœurs par alliance dans le roman Family Matters. Des différends réels entre frères et sœurs du même sang qui ont été portés devant les tribunaux sont également passés en revue. Puis, les questions soulevées sont analysées sous l'angle de la doctrine de l'équité. Les membres de la fratrie qui évaluent l'équité entreprennent de comparer rigoureusement leur propre relation avec les parents des points de vue du lien biologique avec eux et de la nature et du poids de leur influence dans l'interaction avec les parents.

Keywords

agingequitycaregivingsiblingsliterarylegalmultidisciplinaryvieillissementéquitéprestation de soins familiauxfratrielittérairejuridiquemultidisciplinaire
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 26 , Issue S1: Hidden Costs/Invisible Contributions of Caregiving / Coûts cachés et contributions invisibles des soins , Winter/Hiver 2007 , pp. 91 - 102
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 2007

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