Decision-making process of nursing home placement among Chinese family caregivers.

PURPOSE

To understand the process and difficulties that Chinese family caregivers experience when making a nursing home placement decision for their loved ones with dementia.

DESIGN AND METHODS

Using a grounded theory approach, data were collected through individual interviews with 30 Chinese family caregivers in Taiwan.

FINDINGS

A stage-based framework was generated that described how caregivers went through the decision-making process, what specific challenges they encountered within the process, and how they overcame difficulties to reach their decisions.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

By identifying the stages of the decision-making process and various challenges that caregivers experience, clinicians can enhance discussions with caregivers to decrease the decision-making burden. Clinicians might develop family-centered interventions for the decision-making process through the post-placement stage while taking into account cultural influences.