| Description |
When facing a challenge to provide sufficient resources and services to a growing elderly population, family caregivers will be required to provide the majority of care at home, leading to increased stress and burden. While this phenomenon is well-recognized in the research literature, and many attempts have been made to understand the burdening effects of caregiving in quantitative studies, they often lack in-depth and person-centered responses. The purpose of this analysis is to examine the ways in which quantitative indicators of well-being are represented in open-ended conversations amongst caregivers. A secondary data analysis was conducted using data from a mixed method study examining the experience of informal family caregivers of older adults age 65 and older. Data was gathered from interviews between experienced caregivers and those new to caregiving, with participants expanding on semi-structured questions and adding to the conversations based on their knowledge and needs. Utilizing the five predetermined constructs from the Multidimensional Caregiver Burden Inventory proposed by Mark Novak and Carol Guest, twenty audio interview recordings were analyzed using a priori and pattern coding. The results identified five main themes within the topic, including reminiscence, guilt dignity, anger, conflicts, and cherishment. Emotional health was the most discussed out of the five indicators, accounting for 43% of the total codes. Those that pertained to development were the least discussed, out of the five main indicators, and mentioned in 6% of the total codes. Time dependence from care recipients is a significant factor in the caregiver's ability to commit to the personal growth and development. Positive associations were also found between the caregivers' relationship quality with their care recipient and their subjective perception of caregiver burden. Improvements in one dimension of caregiving are likely to benefit another, such as the potential for an increase in physical safety to lead to a decrease in emotional guilt. The perception of burden for informal caregivers of older adults in this study is influenced by the quality of relationship between those involved in the caregiving and care-receiving experience. The limited sample size and lack of consideration in distinct diagnoses and caregiver characteristics in this study calls for further research. In future studies, researchers should focus on how such variables would support the identified sub-themes in order to develop appropriate interventions for specific caregiver groups. |
