Positive aspects of caregiving among informal caregivers of persons with dementia in the Asian context: a qualitative study

BMC Geriatrics

Research

Richard Goveas¹  Li Ling Ng²  Mythily Subramaniam³  Qi Yuan³  Ellaisha Samari³  Anitha Jeyagurunathan³  Yunjue Zhang³ 

[1]Department of Geriatric Psychiatry, Institute of Mental Health, Singapore, Singapore

[2]Department of Psychological Medicine, Changi General Hospital, Singapore, Singapore

[3]Research Division, Institute of Mental Health, Buangkok Green Medical Park, 10 Buangkok View, 539747, Singapore, Singapore

关键词: Informal caregiving;    Dementia;    Positive aspects of caregiving;    Qualitative methodology;    Asian;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12877-023-03767-8

 received in 2022-07-21, accepted in 2023-01-23,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundPositive aspects of caregiving are important coping resources for informal caregivers of persons with dementia (PWD). However, existing studies mostly focused on caregivers from western societies and less attention was paid to the potential cultural differences. This study aims to explore positive aspects of caregiving in the Asian context.MethodsA qualitative methodology with semi-structured interviews was adopted. A total of 29 informal caregivers of PWD in Singapore were interviewed from Apr 2019 to Dec 2020. All the interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim for the analysis. Inductive thematic analysis was conducted.ResultsThe results revealed a total of three major themes with 11 sub-themes including: 1) positive aspects within self (i.e., better understanding of dementia and caregiving, personal growth, role satisfaction, and improved awareness of self-care); 2) positive aspects between caregiver and PWD (i.e., chance to demonstrate filial piety towards PWD, happiness and positive attitudes of PWD, positive interactions with PWD, and closer relationships with PWD); and 3) positive aspects between caregiver and others (i.e., empathy towards other caregivers, befriending peers, and sharing dementia and caregiving knowledge with others).DiscussionFindings from this study improved our understanding on positive aspects of caregiving among informal caregivers of PWD in the Asian context. In addition to similar themes across cultures such as personal growth, our study identified a few unique themes like improved awareness of self-care and chances to demonstrate filial piety. For future studies targeting Asian caregivers, it is necessary to include these cultural-specific positive aspects of caregiving.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2023

【 图 表 】

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