Development of a conceptual framework of positive aspects of caregiving in dementia

Abstract

Research on family caregivers usually focuses more on stress and burden, especially in the context of looking after a person with dementia. This leads to fewer considerations of positive aspects of caregiving. Thus enhancing these positive aspects represents an innovative approach to caregivers' support. Furthermore, these aspects need more conceptualization to underpin the development of such an approach. This article proposes a conceptual framework of the positive aspects of caregiving based on an integrative literature review. This conceptual framework provides a comprehensive model that should improve understanding of positive aspects of caregiving. It could also contribute to the development of innovative support programs based on the positive aspects instead of the negative aspects of caregiving.

Sustaining care for a parent with dementia: an indefinite and intertwined process

“…Carbonneau et al’s (Carbonneau et al, 2010) three domains of positive aspects of caring (i.e., caregiver-care recipient relationships, caregivers’ feeling of accomplishment, and meaning of caregiving role) were evident in our findings. The development of skills (e.g., management skills) that adult children foster through sustaining care, for example, demonstrates one way in which complex care management is not solely experienced as stressful or burdensome.…”

“…Our study also adds that positive relational aspects can extend to the enhancement of multiple family relationships, including spousal and intergenerational relationships. Moreover, our findings suggest that positive aspects of caring not only provide uplifts (Carbonneau et al, 2010); they may also be invoked to justify and reinforce an adult child’s care commitments despite negative consequences. In this way, our study conceptualizes positive aspects of caring as a “double-edged sword”; these aspects enhance care experiences but can also obscure an adult child’s need to balance her parents’ needs with her own.…”

“…Important social and structural forces known to influence care experiences (Chappell & Funk, 2011; Lilly, Robinson, Holtzman, & Bottorff, 2011) have been marginalized, along with evidence of the positive aspects of care (e.g., accomplishment, enhanced relationships) (Carbonneau, Caron, & Desrosiers, 2010), despite a recent majority (83%) of family care partners who view care as a positive experience (National Opinion Research Center, 2014, p. 4). A more balanced view of caring is therefore needed to provide targeted support to those family care partners who are most vulnerable to stress and strain, and to enhance the positive aspects of care that encourage and support family care partners as valued partners in care (Roth et al, 2015).…”

The positive aspects of caregiving in dementia: A critical review of the qualitative literature

“…Two previous reviews of PAC have been conducted in previous years (Carbonneau, Caron & Desrosiers, 2010;Kramer, 1997a). Both of these reviewed studies involving carers of people with a variety of mental and physical difficulties.…”

Managing life-altering situations: A qualitative longitudinal study of the experiences of people with memory disorders and their family caregivers

“…It is possible that FCs' negative thoughts and feelings of burden could cause them to focus on their relatives' weaknesses, creating a vicious cycle in the family, during which the FCs' negative orientation lead to negative responses and actions from the PMD, exacerbating tension. Previous research has shown that good quality of daily relationships and positive reciprocal communication can promote FCs' wellbeing [31,45,46] and support the positive adjustment of PMDs. It has also been found that enhanced relationship quality can maintain better emotional wellbeing of both the PMD and the FC, which can lead to more positive experiences of living with a memory disorder [9] .…”