Several research studies have sought to quantify the effects of formal caregiving on the caregivers; however, limited research has described the experiences of caregiving using a qualitative research design. In this study, we used an interpretative, phenomenological method to explore how coping operates as a central resource for trained caregivers and professional nurses in a palliative care setting. Eleven participants from a community-based, palliative care organisation in South Africa provided narrative accounts of coping within the caregiving process. Our findings identified seven themes related to the different dimensions of coping and the implications of these responses on individual caregivers. In this article, we discuss the cumulative effect of caregiver exposure to stressors, consider future directions to enhance caregiving, and conclude that effective caregiver coping plays a substantial role in caregiver and patient wellbeing and should therefore be a central component of enhancing palliative care interventions.

Despite the importance of community-based palliative care in South Africa, there is little research on the experiences of formal caregivers in low-income settings, and the contextual challenges they encounter in providing caregiving services. We investigated the ways in which contextual factors affect formal caregivers' experiences of caregiving in a community-based environment. Eleven individual interviews were conducted with participants from a community-based palliative care organisation in Gauteng. The data were considered from an interpretive phenomenological perspective and content analysed into themes that converged around the contextual influences on caregiving experiences. The themes provided insight into how caregivers construct their role in relation to the community they serve, the ways in which stigma and poverty affect their role, and their perceptions of the importance of knowledge within caregiving. The findings suggest that contextual factors are an integral and neglected component of understanding the experience of caregiving.

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