Subjective Experiences of Coping Among Caregivers in Palliative Care

Abstract

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.

The burden in palliative care assistance: A comparison of psychosocial risks and burnout between inpatient hospice and home care services workers

“…Terminally ill and chronic degenerative patients require multidisciplinary healthcare teams as well as multiple cares that include pain relief, symptoms control, fear management, and psychological and ethic support for end-of-life issues, which all may result as a challenging experience for coping strategies of health professionals involved (Uren and Graham, 2013;Kamau et al, 2014). Distinctive to this setting are also emotional demands for healthcare workers, consequent to contact with suffering and death, questioning of personal beliefs, confrontation with inability to cure, and secondary trauma (White et al, 2004;Rokach, 2005Rokach, , 2017.…”

“She is My Work”: Caregiving for Older Adults With Hypertension and Diabetes Mellitus

“…A caregiver is usually a salaried (formal) or unpaid (informal) person who offers support to individuals with some disability (Roth et al, 2015). Formal caregivers are professionally trained, whereas informal caregivers have no professional training (Gregory et al, 2017; Uren & Graham, 2013). Formal care could be provided in older adults’ residences or it could be facility based (Hermanns & Mastel-Smith, 2012).…”