Empowering Family Carers: Discovering and Sharing Creative Ideas to Navigate Daily Life

The majority of individuals requiring care in Germany are looked after by family members (Statistisches Bundesamt [Destatis], 2022). Especially, at the beginning of the caregiving period, family caregivers experiences a lack of experience and routines, which leads to stress (Koch et al., 2021). However, long-term carers have often developed creative practices or self-made products to manage not only the challenging caregiving tasks but also to navigate daily life, employment, family life and social participation to enhance their quality of life. These creative ideas have not yet been systematically documented nor made accessible. It could be assumed that these grassroots ideas and products could enhance nursing families’ lives (Duncan et al 2019) as many use online support communities (Friedman et al 2018) and rely on peer support (Lancaster 2023), mostly for emotional relief (Chi & Demiris 2015). Structured peer know how was not mentioned in reviews we researched: How can digital technological networks support the creation of know how on quality of life for all those involved, so that families who take on the main burden of care in Germany can meet the requirements in the long term? How can creative ideas for a better management of everyday life be identified, presented and shared through a digital platform?