Assisting carers using the ACTION model for working with family carers.

This article is the first in a series of four that describes recent developments in Sweden aimed at promoting partnerships between older people, their families and formal service providers. The focus in this article is on the use of information and communication technology (ICT) to help family carers to be more prepared for their caregiving role. It is based upon the PREP (preparedness, enrichment and predictability) model of nursing intervention (Archbold et al, 1995) which is applied in the context of a major ICT project called ACTION (Assisting Carers using Telematics Interventions to meet Older persons' Needs). The way in which ACTION has developed is briefly considered and the range of interventions used is described. Subsequent articles in the series reflect upon users' perceptions of the acceptability of the ACTION approach and a case study of the benefits of ACTION is also presented. Finally, the series concludes with an article which outlines the development of a call centre which is used to complement and augment the ACTION service.