Date of Conferral

2020

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Psychology

Advisor

Jay R. Greiner

Abstract

Unpaid family caregivers in the U.S. now exceed 40 million people, and the question of how to effectively support the family caregiver is now decades old. Healthcare’s dominant perspective is reasonable because healthcare sees the family caregiver in the healthcare transaction. The research consistently reports caregivers cite lack of information and training as a primary reason for feeling the healthcare provider is non-supportive. This qualitative phenomenological study employed semi-structured interviews to explore whether non-supportive might represent a disconnect between caregiver and the healthcare provider purposes with respect to the caregiver role. The theory of work adjustment provides context for considering the caregiver role as a work role, and the potentially efficacious effect of that on improving communication in the healthcare transaction. A purposeful sample of 9 participants was recruited from caregiver support groups and the snowball method. Manual coding and NVivo were used to develop codes and themes, and analyze the data. Findings affirm unpreparedness for the caregiver role while also evidencing active and organized responses to caregiving role challenges. In an emergent sense, participants first struggled with conceptualizing their roles in work terms but gradually gained confidence and began applying some terms to their experience, ultimately freely articulating dynamics of their roles in work terms. This suggests a communicative context that might improve supportive healthcare interactions, strengthen understanding between healthcare providers and the essential family caregiver, and affect positive social change. Healthcare providers can contribute substantially to reducing the early confusion of caregiving with a handout directing caregivers to the now substantial authoritative information for caregivers on the Internet.

Download

Included in

Psychology Commons

Share

 
COinS