The evolution of a social model of care has been accelerated by a range of factors such as new technology, a change in political parties, and lobbying activity. Further complicating the emergence of the new paradigm is the fact that providing effective care within the community requires an understanding of the context that surrounds the family and the ill person, who must often cope with illnesses that require specialized services and the caring for another person's basic human needs. Using the relational sociology perspective, this study aims to better understand the care trajectory of caregivers of people with Alzheimer's disease. We have adopted a methodologically innovative approach that explores two life histories from the viewpoint of social networks, social representations and action sequences. Only once researchers and policy-makers better understand help-seeking processes in the unpredictable context of chronic illness and social life, can they hope to develop social policies adapted to a population whose multiple needs require long-term community care.
AbbottA. (1992). From causes to events: Notes on narrative positivism. Sociological Methods & Research20, 428–455.
2.
AbellP. (2004). Narrative explanation: An alternative to variable-centered explanation?Annual Review of Sociology30, 287–310.
3.
AllenD.GriffithsL.LyneP. (2004). Understanding complex trajectories in health and social care provision. Sociology of Health & Illness26, 1008–1030.
4.
AneshenselC.S.PearlinL.I.MullanJ.T.ZaritS.H.WhitlatchC.J. (1995). Profiles in Caregiving: The Unexpected Career, New York: Academic Press.
5.
AntonucciT.C.ShermanA.M.AkiyamaH. (1996). Social network, support, and integration. In: BirrenJ.E., (Ed.) Encyclopedia of Gerontology: Age, Aging and the Aged, pp. 505–515. San Diego: Academic Press
6.
ArcherM. (2003). Structure, Agency and the Internal Conversation, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
7.
BabrowA.S.MattsonM. (2003). Theorizing about health communication. In: ThompsonT.DorseyA.MillerK.ParrotR., (Eds.). Handbook of Health Communication, pp.35–61. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
8.
BergerR.J. (2008). Agency, structure, and the transition to disability: A case study with implications for life history research. The Sociological Quarterly49, 309–333.
9.
BerkmanL.F.GlassT. (2000). Social integration, social networks, social support, and health. In: BerkmanL.F.KawachiI., (Eds.). Social Epidemiology, pp.137–173. New York: Oxford University Press.
10.
BiddleL.DonovanJ.SharpD.GunnellD. (2007). Explaining non-help-seeking amongst young adults with mental distress: A dynamic interpretive model of illness behaviour. Sociology of Health and Illness29, 983–1002.
11.
BiggsS.LowensteinA.HendricksJ. (2003). The need for Theory: Critical Approaches to Social Gerontology, New York: Baywood Publishing Company.
12.
BourdieuP. (1986). The forms of capital. In: RichardsonJ.G., (Ed.) Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education, pp. 241–258. New York: Greenwood.
13.
BourdieuP. (1998). Practical Reason: On the Theory of Action, Stanford University Press.
14.
BrodatyH.ThomsonC.ThompsonC.FineM. (2005).Why caregivers of people with dementia and memory loss don't use services. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry20, 537–546.
15.
BrubakerT.H.BrubakerE. (1989). Toward a theory of family caregiving: Dependencies, responsibility, and use of services. In: ManciniJ.A., (Ed.). Aging parents and adult children, pp. 245–257. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.
16.
CappellettoF.MerlerE. (2003). Perceptions of health hazards in the narratives of Italian migrant workers at an Australian asbestos mine (1943–1966). Social Science & Medicine56, 1047–1059.
17.
CarpentierN.BernardP.GrenierA.GubermanN. (2010). Using the life course perspective to study the entry into the illness trajectory: The perspective of caregivers of people with Alzheimer's disease. Social Science & Medicine70, 1501–1508.
18.
CarpentierN.BernardP. (2011). The complexities of help-seeking: Exploring challenges through a social network perspective. In: PescosolidoB.MartinJ.K.McLeodJ.D.RogersA., (Eds.). The Handbook of the Sociology of Health, Illness, & Healing: Blueprint for the 21st Century, pp465–479. New York: Springer.
19.
CarpentierN.DucharmeF.KergoatM.-J.BergmanH. (2008). Barriers to care and social representations early in the career of caregivers of persons with Alzheimer disease. Research on Aging30, 334–357.
20.
CarpentierN.DucharmeF. (2003). Care-giver network transformation: The need for an integrated perspective. Ageing and Society23, 507–525.
21.
CarpentierN.DucharmeF. (2005). Support network transformations in the first stages of the caregiver's career. Qualitative Health Research15, 289–311.
22.
CarpentierN.PomeyM.P.ContrerasR.OlazabalI. (2008). Social care interface in early-stage dementia: Practitioners' perspectives on the links between formal and informal networks. Journal of Aging and Health20, 710–738.
23.
ClausenJ.A.YarrowM.R. (1955). Paths to the mental hospital. Journal of Social Issues11, 25–32.
24.
ColemanJ.S. (1986). Social theory, social research, and a theory of action. American Journal of Sociology91, 1309–1335.
25.
ColemanJ.S. (1990). Foundations of Social Theory, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
26.
DépelteauF. (2008). Relational thinking: A critique of co-deterministic theories of structure and agency. Sociological Theory26, 51–73.
27.
DubetF. (1995). Sociologie de l'experience, Paris: Seuil.
28.
ElderG.H. (1978). Family and life course. In: HarevenT.K., (Ed.). Transitions: The Life Course in Historical Perspective, pp. 14–61. New York: Academic Press.
29.
EmirbayerM. (1997). Manifesto for a relational sociology. American Journal of Sociology103, 281–317.
30.
EmirbayerM.MischeA. (1998). What is agency. American Journal of Sociology103, 962–1023.
31.
FabregaH. (1970). Dynamics of medical practice in a folk community. Milbank Memorial Fund Quarterly48, 391–412.
32.
FreidsonE. (1970). The lay construction of illness. In: FriedsonE., (Ed.). Profession of Medicine: A Study of the Sociology of Applied Knowledge, New York: Harper & Row.
33.
GiddensA. (1984). The Constitution of Society: Outline of the Theory of Structuration, Cambridge: Polity Press.
34.
GriffinL.J. (1992). Temporality, events, and explanation in historical sociology: An introduction. Sociological Methods & Research20, 403–427.
35.
HirstM. (2005). Carer distress: A prospective, population-based study. Social Science & Medicine61, 697–708.
36.
HorwitzA.V. (1977). Social networks and pathways to psychiatric treatment. Social Forces56, 86–105.
37.
JodeletD. (2003). Les représentations sociales, 7 edn.Paris: PUF.
38.
KadushinC. (1966). The friends and supporters of psychotherapy: On social circles in urban life. American Sociological Review31, 786–802.
39.
KadushinC. (2004). Too much investment in social capital?Social Networks26, 75–90.
40.
KoniordosS.M. (2008). Social capital contested. International Review of Sociology: Revue Internationale de Sociologie18, 317–337.
41.
LyonsK.L.ZaritS.H. (1999). Formal and informal support: The great divide. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry14, 183–196.
42.
MainesD.R. (1993). Narrative's moment and sociology's phenomena: Toward a narrative sociology. The Sociological Quarterly34, 17–38.
43.
MartuccelliD. (2002). Grammaires de l'individu, Paris: Gallimard.
44.
MartuccelliD. (2006). Forgé par l'épreuve. L'individu dans la France contemporaine, Paris: Armand Colin.
45.
McKinlayJ.B. (1972). Some approaches and problems in the study of the use of services. Journal of Health and Social Behavior13, 115–152.
46.
MesseriP.SilversteinM.LitwakE. (1993). Choosing optimal support groups: A review and reformulation. Journal of Health and Social Behavior34, 122–137.
47.
MoodyM. (2008). Serial reciprocity: A preliminary statement. Sociological Theory26, 130–151.
48.
MoscoviciS.MarkováI. (1998). Presenting social representations: A conversation. Culture & Psychology4, 371–410.
49.
MoscoviciS. (1973). Introduction. In: HerzlichC., (Ed.) Health and Illness: A social psychological Analysis, London: Academic Press.
50.
ParsonsT. (1951). The Social System, New York: The Free Press.
51.
PescosolidoB.A. (2006). Sociology of social networks. In: BryantC.D.PeckD.L., (Eds.). 21st Century Sociology: A Reference Handbook, pp. 208–217. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications.
52.
PescosolidoB.A. (1992). Beyond rational choice: The social dynamics of how people seek help. American Journal of Sociology97, 1096–1138.
53.
PescosolidoB.A. (1991). Illness careers and network ties: A conceptual model of utilization and compliance. In: AlbrechtG.LevyJ., (Eds.). Advances in Medical Sociology, pp. 161–184. Greenwich, Conn.: JAI.
54.
Robles-SilvaL. (2008). The caregiving trajectory among poor and chronically ill people. Qualitative Health Research18, 358–368.
55.
ShengeliaB.TandonA.AdamsO.B.MurrayC.J.L. (2005). Access, utilization, quality, and effective coverage: An integrated conceptual framework and measurement strategy. Social Science & Medicine61, 97–109.
56.
SilversteinM.BergtsonV.L.LitwakE. (2003). Theoretical approaches to problems of families, aging, and social support in the context of modernization. In: BiggsS.LowensteinA.HendricksJ., (Eds.). The Need for Theory: Critical Approaches to Social Gerontology, pp. 181–198. Amityville, New York: Baywood.
57.
SkvoretzJ.FararoT.J. (1996). Status and participation in task groups: A dynamic network model. American Journal of Sociology101, 1366–1414.
58.
SuchmanE.A. (1965). Social patterns of illness and medical care. Journal of Health and Human Behavior6, 2–16.
59.
TaylorD.BuryM. (2007). Chronic illness, expert patients and care transition. Sociology of Health & Illness29, 27–45.
60.
UeharaE.S. (2001). Understanding the dynamics of illness and help-seeking: Event-structure analysis and a Cambodian-American narrative of “Spirit Invasion”. Social Science & Medicine52, 519–536.
61.
WeberL.R.CarterA.I. (2002). The Social Construction of Trust, New York: Sringer.
62.
WeinbergD.B.LusenhopR.W.GittellJ.H.KautzC.M. (2007). Coordination between formal providers and informal caregivers. Health Care Management Review. 32, 140–149.
63.
WhiteH.C. (2008). Identity and Control: How Social Formations Emerge, Second Ed.Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press.
64.
ZaritS.H.FemiaE.E. (2008). A future for family care and dementia intervention research? Challenges and strategies. Aging & Mental Health12, 5–13.
65.
ZolaI.K. (1973). Pathways to the doctor-from person to patient. Social Science and Medicine7, 677–689.
