• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.45-54
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• 2006

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore Korean mothers' experiences of caregiving for their adult children with schizophrenia. Method: A iterative descriptive qualitative research design was used to understand and explain the caregiving experience from the perspective of mothers. The data were collected by individual in-depth interviews and one focus group interview from 11 mothers. The ages of the participants ranged from 50 to 60 years old and the ages of their sick children ranged from late 20s to early 40s, Results: Three major themes were identified from qualitative thematic analysis: (a) 'emotional debris from the disease,' (b) 'the disease that makes mothers dumb' (c) 'space of rational reason,' Conclusions: This study would provide health care professionals insights in establishing intervention for mothers by deeply understanding the process of recognition and acceptance of their children with schizophrenia.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.280-290
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• 2012

Purpose: This study done to identify the experiences of families caring for patients with terminal cancer. The question was, "What is the caregiving experience of a family who has a member with terminal cancer?" Methods: Grounded Theory was applied and in-depth interviews were done with 11 family members. Interviews were recorded with the interviewees' consent and were transcribed and analyzed. Participants' relationships to patients were 6 spouses, 4 daughters, and 1 mother. The ages of the participants were between 32 and 62, with an average of 47.5. Results: The study showed "enduring with bonds" as the main category and the main factor affecting this category was the "patients' diagnosis of terminal cancer." The caregiving experience was divided into four stages: shock, confusion, struggle, and acceptance. Mediating factors were relationship with the patient, intimacy with the patient, social support, communication, and trust. Conclusively, participants underwent internal maturity, and changes occurred in family and social and personal life. Conclusion: The families took care of the patients with responsibility and love. The study results should help with the understanding of a family with a member with terminal cancer and should be used to develop nursing, mediating, and consulting programs for these caregivers.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.914-923
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• 2007

Purpose: This qualitative study aimed to identify the common, lived experiences of grandmothers who cared for their grandchildren as the primary caregivers. Methods: This study was based on the phenomenological method described by Colaizzi (1978). Results: Seven theme clusters emerged from the data as follows: "grandmother caregivers accept the parenting role of the incessant responsibilities and the distrust of non-kin caregivers.", "grandmother caregivers have a double maternal roles; an instrument-oriented maternal role to their own child and relationship-oriented maternal role to their grandchild.", "grandmother caregivers are partially authorized to make decisions in the matters of their grandchild.", "grandmother caregivers suffer a deterioration in their health by an acceleration of the aging process.", "caregiving causes grandmother caregivers to feel a sense of social isolation, and persue various coping strategies to control this feeling.", "grandmother caregivers have a greater feeling of self-esteem, but they often conflict with their adult children if they don't feel appreciated by them.", "grandmother caregivers have limited social support and their health issues are often overlooked in the family context.' Conclusion: The results of this study can guide nurses and health care workers to understand the experiences of grandmother caregivers and to implement individualized nursing interventions suited for them.

• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.35-51
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• 2011

This study examined how caregiving experiences of spouses and adult children were different to each other in terms of caregiver characteristics, the impairment level of the elderly, caregiving time, caregiver burden, the effects of long-term care services, etc. Data were collected from 321 spouses and 324 adult children who cared for the functionally and/or cognitively impaired elderly using long-term care services. The main results are as follows. (1) Caregiver characteristics differed significantly between spouses and adult children. (2) Adult children cared for the more severely impaired elderly in terms of IADL, cognitive impairment, and behavior problems while spouses spent more time helping in ADL activities. (3) Spouse caregivers experienced greater overall burden, worry and strain, and financial burden compared to adult child caregivers. (4) Long-term care services were effective in reducing caregiver burden and improving family relations. Additionally, relations between adult child caregivers and the elderly was more improved than relations between spouse caregivers and the elderly after using long-term care services. Based on these findings, the differential experiences between spouse caregivers and adult child caregivers were discussed.

• 한국노년학
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.683-699
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• 2009

Family caregiving to the elderly is one of the most important social issues in recent Korea. Among various kinds of family caregivers, spouse caregivers particularly constitute a special group, generally characterized by continuous intimate association with the care recipients at many levels and by special commitments and responsibilities associated with the marriage bond. And the number of spouse caregiver is expected to increase in the future. Moreover, since a conjugal relation is consisted of husband and wife, their caregiving experiences and caregiving burden may vary by gender. Thus, the present study was to examine the effect of caregiving experience, especially caregiving motivation and social support focusing on the gender differences. We analysed 「2001 Survey of Care-giving Status and welfare Needs of Older Persons in Korea」 data by performing descriptive statistics, t-test and logistic regression. As a result, we found that the husband was likely to feel more burden when he started caregiving because of few alternatives. For wife caregivers, the less awareness of social support they had, the more possibility of economic burden they felt. With these results, we suggest the necessity of having gender-sensitive perspective in research and policy making for caregivers.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.260-269
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• 2005

Purpose: This study were to understand the caregiving situation of families with the demented elderly and to develop a self-help program for them. Method: A self-help program was designed to increase caregivers' confidence and skills in problem solving. In addition, it was designed to provide information about the demented elderly. The self-help program of this study was composed of nine sessions. Result: Family caregivers of elderly patients with dementia obviously experience high level of stress. which often leads the caregivers to negative outcomes such as depression, interference with social activities and health difficulties. That is, caring is stressful for caregivers because the demands of the caregiving situation tend to overwhelm the caregivers' coping resources. Therefore, families with demented elderly persons need assistances in order to be relieved from their care burden. Conclusion: The self-help program includes the understanding of dementia, the family caregiving experiences of the demented elderly persons, the time for self-care, the search for helping, the improving of interpersonal relations and communications.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.435-454
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• 1999

The caregiving experiences of 100 family menbers of outpatients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders were investigated for the presence of positive(positive family-patient relationship. patient' contribution to the family) and negative caregiving experience(objective and subjective burden) and their predictors. This study attempts to make the analysis of caregiving experience more useful by expanding the focus to incoporate these positive aspects of the experience of family caregiver. Objective burden consists of two elements: 'disruption of family life', 'care'(amount of caregiving related to activity of daily living). Subjective burden is defined as emotional reactions to the care giving and it comprised of 6 emotional subdimensions such as 'stigma', 'grief'. 'worry', 'pity', 'fear', 'despair'. Also we investigate the severity of patients' disturbing behaviors into two categories, positive and negative disturbing behaviors and patient' contribution to the family as a predictors of positive and negative caregiving experiences. This study use Pearson's correlation coefficient, Hierardhical regressions in the SAS Program. The results are as follows: 1. Respondents reported moderate level of objective burden 'disruption of family life' (mean = 2.48, range = 1-4), and 'care' (mean=2.54, range = 1-4), and slightly high level of total subjective burden(mean = 2.19, range = 1-4). Mean scores for the measure of the severity of behavioral disturbance indicated that the caregiver experienced negative disturbing behaviors around almost 'somtimes'(mean=2.28, range = 1-4), and positive disturbing behaviors 'almost not frequent'(mean=2.78. range=1-4). So they reported that they perceived patient's negative disturbing behaviors more than positive disturbing behaviors. Mean scores for the measure of the patient' contributions (mean = 1.99. range = 1-4) indicated that caregivers experienced these contributions a little. It means that there should be a positive aspect of possibilities of patient' family roles that can be developed in the daily life. Mean scores for the measure of the positive family-patient relationship indicated that caregivers experienced moderate level of positive family-patient relationship(mean=2.52, range = 1-4). 2. Hierardhical regression analysis 1) Hierardhical regression of 'disruption of family life' showed that the interaction between positive disturbing behaviors and patient' contributions (B = .20. p = .022) and caregiver's educational level(B=.06. p=.000) were 'significant and Hierardhical regression of 'care' showed that 'negative disturbing behaviors'(B= .35. p= .007). 'patient' contributions'(B= .28, p= .019). 'family income'(B=-.l1. p=.096) were significant. 2) Hierardhical regression of 'total subjective burden', 'stigma', 'grief', 'worry', 'pity'. 'fear', 'dispair' showed that 'positive disturbing behaviors'(B=.51. p=.000). 'negative disturbing behaviors' (B = .17, p = .026), 'caregiver's educational level'(B = .03. p=.036), 'family income'(B=.08. p=.041) were significant predictors of 'total subjective burden': 'positive disturbing behaviors'(B=.32. p=.066). 'negative disturbing behaviors'(B=.24, p=.096) 'durations of illness'(B= .03. p= .079) were significant predictors of 'stigma' 'negative disturbing behaviors'(B=.28. p=.005). 'patient sex'(B=-.32. p=.022). 'positive disturbing behaviors'(B=.28. p=.020), 'patient age'(B=.02. p=.010), 'caregiver age'(B=-01, p= .002) were significant predictors of 'grief' 'negative disturbing behaviors'(B= .28, p= .005). 'patient sex'(B= -.32. p=.039), 'caregiver age'(B=-.02, p= .023). 'caregiver's educational level'(B= .04, p = .044) were significant predictors of 'worry' 'patient sex'(B=-.46. p=.005). 'negative disturbing behaviors'(B= .28. p=.018), 'caregiver age'(B=-.01, p=.037) were significant predictors of 'pity' 'positive disturbing behaviors'(B=.83. p=.000). 'patient' contributions' (B = .22, p =.017). 'family income'(B=.09. p=.65) were significant predictors of 'fear' 'positive disturbing behaviors'(B=.49, p=.001). 'negative disturbing behaviors'(B= .24. p=.057) 'patient sex'(B=-.4l, p=.017), 'family income'(B=.14, p=.047) were significant predictors of 'dispair'. 3) Hierardhical regression of 'positive relationship' showed that 'patient contributions'(B=.32, p=.000). 'negative disturbing behaviors'(B= .24, p= .005), 'patient sex'(B=-.23, p=.036).

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.12
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• pp.5063-5069
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• 2014

Background: Cancer is a disease which affects not only patients but also their families physically and emotionally. The purpose of this study was to determine the needs, challenges and ways of coping of caregivers of cancer patients. Materials and Methods: In the study, a phenomenological approach was used. Data were collected through semi-structured individual interviews. The study sample comprised 16 family members providing care for a cancer patient. Results: The study findings are grouped under four main themes: the impact of caregiving, masking feelings, experienced challenges and expectations, and coping. During the caregiving process, patient relatives are affected physiologically, psychologically and socially. It was determined that patient relatives hid their feelings and avoided talking about the disease for fear that they might upset the patient, and that they had difficulty in coping with the patient's reactions during the treatment process. Family members had difficulties arising from the health system, hospital conditions and treatment in addition to transportation and financial problems. Support is very important in coping, but it was determined that some of the relatives of patients did not receive adequate support. Patient relatives expect that health care professionals should provide them with more information about their patient's condition and the course of the disease that their patients should be dealt with by the physicians specialized in cancer, and that psychological support should be provided both for them and for their patient. Conclusions: During the caregiving process, family members are faced with many difficulties and they exhibit different coping behaviors which health care professionals should take into account.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.283-293
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• 2015

This study explores experiences of male family care worker who are caring for their family members with chronic health conditions at home. Qualitative methodologies were used; semi-structured in-depth interviews with seven participants. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Results indicated that men are playing greater roles in the provision of care for family members. Findings are presented as three themes: adaptation of role transformations, development for new relationships, and learning to cope with the unexpected. The results suggest that male family care workers experience changes in the ways that they adapt their traditional roles to the new roles they assume as caregivers. Implications for social workers and other care providers are discussed.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.389-398
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• 2013

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to understand and describe the overcoming experiences of family members caring for elderly patients with dementia at home. Methods: Data came from autobiographies on the overcoming experiences of caregiving from 31 participants, who had submitted the autobiographies to a public contest held by the Seoul Metropolitan Center for Dementia in 2012. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Results: Four overcoming stages emerged from the analysis: confronting stage; challenging stage; integrating stage; and transcendental stage, representing transformation of experiences from frustration and suffering to happiness and new hope in life. The confronting stage illustrates severe negative feelings and exhaustion occurring after the diagnosis of dementia. The challenging stage signifies major driving forces in taking good care of their patients. It includes tender loving memories about the patients as well as family and social supports. The integrating stage shows genuine empathy for the patients' situation and the happiness of 'here and now', while the transcendental stage represents new hope in the future. Conclusion: Health professionals need to support caregivers to find true meaning of caring and happiness in everyday life, while providing specific information on dementia care and relieving various negative feelings.