The experience of caring for an older relative in Chile: going beyond the burden of care

Abstract

Care in Chile, as in most Latin American countries, remains largely the responsibility of female family members in informal arrangements with little government support. The analysis of caring for a dependent older person has commonly been approached from the burden of care perspective, focusing on the tasks carried out, the time spent providing care and the negative (burdensome) consequences for the care-giver. This study reveals the daily experiences of family care-givers of older people through a thematic data analysis of 42 interviews with main family carers of an older person as experienced by the carers themselves. Findings highlight the complex nature of care work. Tasks carried out do not necessarily relate to the intensity of the care experience or a negative experience. Care-givers can work long hours providing care and still feel comfortable and find the experience emotionally rewarding. Care-givers might also carry out only a few tasks and experience pressure. The broader social and economic context can generate constraints that make a specific set of tasks easier or harder on the carer, but these contextual factors do not fully explain the experience of care. Relations, and particularly those that carry an emotional component such as the carer-older person, carer-siblings and carer-spouse, must be considered alongside the tasks and the difficulties or potential constraints of the context to understand the care experience.

Ethical considerations in design and implementation of home-based smart care for dementia

“…Smart care systems are often promoted as offering reassurance. This framing aligns with a commonly held association of care with worry 45 and with caring as a relation that involves both labour and emotion 46 and can be an emotional rollercoaster. 47 In the recent COVID-19 pandemic, the challenge of achieving care at a distance and balancing multiple concerns about the safety of those who are cared-for has increased, and we have become acutely conscious that care is more than simply practical labour.…”

Calidad De Vida en Personas Mayores De Entornos Rurales: Diferencias Entre Hombres Y Mujeres

“…Los resultados en general comprueban que las mujeres tienen una vejez con menor calidad de vida, lo que es concordante con la evidencia empírica (11) . Las mujeres han experimentado un curso de vida más complejo, tanto en términos fisiológicos (menopausia) (19) , como sociales debido a las consecuencias vinculadas a las múltiples tareas del cuidado de otras personas (20) .…”

Depressive Symptomology, Identity and Religious Practices among Catholics and Evangelicals: Differences between the Mapuche and Non-Indigenous Chilean Population

“…However, most empirical evidence regarding this topic is focused on older adults and the implications of religiosity/spirituality for their wellbeing. Older adults in Chile face ageing with higher levels of socioeconomic disadvantages owing to their small pensions, giving rise to precariousness in old age (Moyano-Díaz and Mendoza-Llanos 2020), in addition to a social protection system that is mainly inefficient in the area of health and dependency (Palacios et al 2020). Following this line of argument, a study by Gallardo-Peralta and Sánchez-Moreno (2014) suggested that a combination of religious beliefs and practice was related to a lower incidence of depressive symptoms among older adults.…”