The findings of the study provide the basic information for developing proactive strategies to support family caregivers better in the difficult period of nursing home placement.

Self-esteem and hope must be considered when developing services to reduce depression in Korean women with breast cancer.

These data can be used to assist healthcare professionals in the development of educational tools and strategies for promoting cancer screening programs for KAs. The unique contribution of this study was the opportunity to compare findings from an immigrant Korean population with a similar population in the country of origin.

연구의 필요성만성질환이나Purpose: The purpose of the study was to explore and describe the experience of adult Korean children who are caregivers for parents institutionalized with dementia. Methods: Participants were fourteen adult children caregivers of elders institutionalized with dementia. Data were collected through in-depth unstructured interviews with individual participants from August to November, 2012. Theoretical sampling was used to the point of theoretical saturation. Data were analyzed using Strauss and Corbin's Grounded Theory Method. Results: From open coding, 67 concepts, 29 sub-categories, and 14 categories were identified. Analysis revealed that the core category of the experience of adult children caring for their parents institutionalized with dementia was 'enduring the role of a prop' consisting of four phases: initial turmoil, exploration, role adjustment, and acclimation. To manage the role of a prop, participants utilized various action/interactional strategies such as overcoming the unfamiliarity, overseeing the nursing home care, and counterbalancing the caring roles. As a result, participants experienced ambivalence towards the existence of parents with dementia, changes in family relationships, altered viewpoint towards nursing homes, and restructuring of life. Conclusion: In-depth understanding of the experience will guide nurses to promote effective interventions in order to better support the Korean family caregivers of parents institutionalized with dementia. If the original work is properly cited and retained without any modification or reproduction, it can be used and re-distributed in any format and medium.