Date of Conferral

2023

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Human Services

Advisor

Tronda Douglas

Abstract

Informal caregivers’ experiences of caring for older adults diagnosed with a urinary tract infection (UTI) is a prevalent issue that affects adults as they age. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to understand informal caregivers’ experiences observing and reporting to doctors observable changes of behavior in older adults that were later linked to unconventional symptoms of potential UTIs. Attribution theory was used as the theoretical framework for this study. This qualitative study addressed the research question of informal caregivers’ experiences observing and reporting to doctors observed changes in older adults associated with unconventional UTI symptoms. Data were collected from six African American women over the age of 18 years old with experience as informal caregivers through semi-structured, audio-recorded phone and face-to-face interviews. The data were analyzed using Moustakas’s method to determine the themes. Findings revealed that the participants were people who cared and advocated for their patients. Findings also revealed key thematic response categories, such as key symptoms of UTIs observed and reported by caregivers and experiences communicating with medical professionals. This study serves as a call for more research to be conducted related to informal caregivers’ experience caring for older adults diagnosed with UTIs. This study’s implications for positive social change include the potential use by human services professionals, social workers, and advocates to advocate for educational seminars and awareness campaigns that educate informal caregivers on some of the atypical or unconventional symptoms of UTIs.

Download

Share

 
COinS