Families’ Experiences of Support Provided by Resource-Oriented Family Professionals in Finland

Abstract

This study describes the support provided by resource-oriented family workers in Finland and the prerequisites for such support. Family workers consisted of professionals such as public health nurses, nurses, social educators, psychologists, kindergarten teachers, and social workers. The overall research project consisted of four separate studies carried out within the Families With Children Project. The findings of the four studies were aggregated and submitted to a secondary analysis. Interview data from 51 parents across 44 families with young children were included in the analysis. The families reported that they received emotional, cognitive, instrumental, and community and network support from the family workers. The work of resource-oriented family professionals was facilitated by the arrangements and orientation of the service model and by the quality of interaction between the family worker and the family. The families’ experiences of support underlined the multiple dimensions of the cooperative relationship and the usefulness of the supportive interaction. The findings extend the understanding of resource-oriented family work from the perspective of families and offer important implications for the caring of families with young children.