Privacy and Confidentiality as Obstacles to Interweaving Formal and Informal Social Care: The Boundaries of the Private Realm

Abstract

Community care provides a setting in which both public, formal social care and private, informal, social care have the potential to complement one another in meeting the needs of dependent persons. The theoretical implications of "interweav ing" formal and informal care are considered in the light of concerns about privacy and confidentiality which may limit such potential collaboration. The obstacles to those working in welfare agencies tapping informal networks are highlighted. Em pirical evidence from the study of neighbors and neighborhood care is presented to show that drawing boundaries around a private sphere belonging to the self and the family is universal and that various defences are erected against gossip and the local sharing of personal information. The implications of such privacy concerns for interweaving are considered in terms of balance theory, the substitutability of carers, the circumstances in which information may be shared with third parties, the use of natural leaders, and problems of professional responsibility. The need to rethink the boundaries of the private realm is suggested.