scholarly journals The experiences of caregivers providing home care for terminally ill family members at the end of life: A phenomenological study in Bahrain

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 57
Author(s):  
Fatima Saleh ◽  
Catherine S. O’Neill

Objective: The aim of the study was to explore the lived experience of caregivers providing home care for terminally ill family members, with the objectives of describing their experiences of caring for relatives who are terminally ill with cancer and the needs of home caregiving in Bahrain.Methods: The study adopted a Heideggerian, hermeneutic phenomenological design, with a purposive sample of eight family caregivers. Data was generated through one to one, in-depth interviews and analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis.Results: Three main themes emerged from the data: (1) the burden of care, (2) comforts, and (3) coping. The findings showed that the lived experience of home caregiving includes physical, emotional and financial burdens, combined with a lack of professional support. The collective experience was infused with intense emotions because of a lack of structured support, resulting in negative emotions that frequently affected the caregivers’ well-being and their ability to care for the ill person. Nevertheless, caregivers tried to maintain care and comforts for their terminally ill relative in the home. They adopted the home environment, arranged resources to ease caring and provided psychological care. Caregivers utilized three coping mechanisms, faith, personal strategies and distribution of the care responsibilities among family members.Conclusions: Caregivers were not prepared for the commitment and burdens of home care when a family member is terminally ill. A recommendation from the study findings is that training be offered on nursing care before patients discharge. In addition, a reactivation of the palliative care clinic hotline service would support family caregivers. A further recommendation is that home nursing care and hospice services be established to improve homecare services for family caregivers in Bahrain.

Dementia ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 147130122097078
Author(s):  
Bruce D Walmsley ◽  
Lynne McCormack

Background and Objectives Few studies explore both negative and positive perspectives of family members who relinquish home care of a family member with dementia for systemic aged care. Research Design and Methods This phenomenological study sought the ‘lived’ experience of relinquishing the role of home carer for a family member with mild to severe dementia to others within care home settings, by seeking to understand the impact of aged care on family members’ psychological well-being. Using semi-structured interviews, positive and negative subjective interpretations from 17 families (27 individuals) provided data for analysis, following the protocols of interpretative phenomenological analysis. Results One superordinate theme, mistrust/integrity, overarched oscillation between mistrust of the aged care system and a struggle for personal integrity in caring for these participants. Two sub-themes emerged: intrinsic trauma and extrinsic trauma. Intrinsic trauma explained feelings of helplessness and guilt, and internally directed responses that triggered a retreat into submission ultimately reducing the participant’s role in advocacy. Extrinsic trauma represented externally directed responses such as anger and frustration, where family members became more engaged and watchful and recognised a need for vigilance and advocacy. Paradoxically oscillating between these personal struggles, participants exhibited growth, a third theme that defined assertive/advocacy utilised to nurture hope, gratitude, courage and change. Discussion and Implications Family members experienced complex distress as they relinquished home care to others within systemic aged care for a member with dementia. By developing adaptive responses as appropriate, for example, advocating for their family member or accepting compliance with treatment, collaborative care between family and staff created better outcomes for the family member with dementia.


2018 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 170-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anabela Pereira Mendes

ABSTRACT Objective: Understand the impact of critical-illness news on the experience of family members at an Intensive Care Unit. Method: Phenomenological approach according to Van Manen's method. Open interviews were held with 21 family members. From analysis and interpretation of the data, three essential themes were identified: the unexpected; the pronouncement of death; and the impact on self-caring within the family. The study complied with the ethical principles inherent to research involving humans. Results: The unexpected news and death of the sick person influence the well-being and self-care of family members, affecting their ability for analysis and decision making. It was observed that the family experiences the news with suffering, mainly due to the anticipation arising from the events. Final considerations: The humanity of nurses was revealed in response to the needs of the family. In view of the requirements for information, it was verified that the information transmitted allowed them to become aware of themselves, to become empowered in their daily lives and to alleviate the emotional burden experienced.


2019 ◽  
pp. bmjspcare-2018-001561 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan DeSanto-Madeya ◽  
Dan Willis ◽  
Julie McLaughlin ◽  
Aristotle Boslet

ObjectivesFamily caregivers suffer a high burden of emotional and psychological distress following the death of a loved one in the intensive care unit and often struggle to heal in the weeks following their loss. The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to describe and interpret the experience of healing for family caregivers six weeks following the death of a loved one in the ICU.MethodsSemi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of twenty-four family caregivers six weeks following the death of their loved ones in the ICU. Qualitative analysis techniques were used to identify common themes central to the experience of healing across all interviews.ResultsSeven themes were interpreted from the data: searching for clarity from a time of uncertainty; riding an emotional rollercoaster; seeking peace in one’s decisions; moving forward with each new day; taking comfort in the memories; valuing layers of support; and discovering life on one’s own.ConclusionBy identifying and gaining an understanding of healing following the death of a loved one in the ICU, nursing and other healthcare providers have an opportunity to promote healing and positively impact family caregiver’s bereavement.


2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (6) ◽  
pp. 656-661 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenny Marlindawani Purba

Background: A caregiver is a primary nurse and has a major role in providing care for people with schizophrenia. Caring for those with schizophrenia for a long period of time is a challenge for families, especially caregivers. Various needs ought to be studied by nurses to assist caregivers in providing optimal care for family members who experience schizophrenia.Objective: This qualitative study aims to explore the needs of caregivers in treating schizophrenia at home.Methods: The method used in this study is the method of purposive sampling with the number of participants as many as 10 people with criteria: 1) have family members diagnosed with schizophrenia, 2) directly involved in home care patients, 3) caring for schizophrenia for more than one year, 4) willing to be a participant by signing informed consent, 4) being able to identify what is needed in treating schizophrenia. Colaizzi is used to analyze interview data.Results: The results of the study found four themes of caregiver needs in caring for schizophrenia patients at home, ly: 1) seeking information about schizophrenia, 2) sought schizophrenic relatives’ recovery, 3) looking for appropriate rehabilitation for relatives with schizophrenias, and 4) utilizing mental health facilities.Conclusions: It is expected that nurses have the knowledge and skills in identifying and helping families, especially caregivers, to meet unmet needs so they can optimize home care.


2015 ◽  
pp. 1259-1282
Author(s):  
Chris L. Yuen

This chapter examines the nature and characteristics of mathematics anxiety learning and provides instructional implications for highly mathematics-anxious learners, which are informed by lived experience. The discussion comes from research on the Mathematics Anxiety Learning Phenomenon (MALP), a hermeneutic phenomenological study using Wilber's Integral Model as the underpinning framework. Based on the lived experience data, hermeneutic themes were developed, and it is shown that those themes are capitalized upon in the flipped approach to foster a mathematics-anxious-friendly learning environment. Using the themes from the study, the chapter argues that the flipped approach could be beneficial to students who are highly mathematics-anxious. The system of linear equations with two variables, a common mathematics topic, is used to illustrate how the flipped approach to instructional design could recognize mathematics-anxious adult learners.


Author(s):  
Antoni Barnard ◽  
Aleksandra Furtak

Volunteering in non-Western countries, such as South Africa, is subject to poor infrastructure, lack of resources, poverty-stricken conditions and often conducted by volunteers from lower socio-economic spheres of society. Sustaining the well-being of volunteers in this context is essential in ensuring their continued capacity to volunteer. To do so, it is important to understand the psychological resilience of these volunteers and the resistance resources they employ to positively adapt to their challenging work-life circumstances. The aim of this qualitative hermeneutic phenomenological study was to explore volunteers’ psychological resilience from a salutogenic perspective. In-depth interviews were conducted with eight volunteers servicing government-run hospitals. Data were analysed through phenomenological hermeneutical analysis. Findings show a characteristic work-life orientation to be at the root of volunteers’ resilience. Their work-life orientation is based on a distinct inner drive, an other-directedness and a “calling” work orientation. It is proposed that this work-life orientation enables volunteers in this study context, to cope with and positively adapt to challenging work-life circumstances and continue volunteering. The elements of their work-life orientation are presented as intrapersonal strength resources fundamental to their psychological resilience. It is suggested that organisations invest in developmental interventions that endorse and promote these intrapersonal strengths.


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