Cash Belinda, Warburton Jeni, Hodgkin Suzanne
School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Albury, New South Wales, Australia.
John Richards Initiative, La Trobe University, Wodonga, Victoria, Australia.
Australas J Ageing. 2019 Mar;38(1):E19-E24. doi: 10.1111/ajag.12590. Epub 2018 Oct 3.
This study explores the intersection of marriage and caregiving amongst older spousal caregivers in regional Australia. Specifically, we address the research question: 'How do expectations of informal care impact spousal caregivers in later life?'
These comprise interpretive qualitative in-depth interviews in order to understand the lived experience of caregiving within the context of long-term marriage.
Findings highlight the complexity and diversity of marital relationships as the context of informal care. Individual and social obligations were evident in key themes, demonstrating how spouses automatically assume and continue in caregiver roles in later life.
Caregiving is an expectation of couples in long-term marriages, regardless of the relationship quality and willingness to care. Normative expectations also impact decision-making around future care planning and transitions away from home-based care. These are important considerations for both policy and practice with older adults and their caregivers.
本研究探讨了澳大利亚地区老年配偶照料者中婚姻与照料之间的交叉点。具体而言，我们要解决的研究问题是：“非正式照料的期望如何影响晚年的配偶照料者？”
采用解释性定性深入访谈，以了解长期婚姻背景下照料的实际经历。
研究结果凸显了作为非正式照料背景的婚姻关系的复杂性和多样性。关键主题中明显体现了个人和社会义务，展示了配偶如何在晚年自动承担并持续扮演照料者角色。
照料是长期婚姻中夫妻的一种期望，无论关系质量和照料意愿如何。规范性期望也会影响围绕未来照料计划以及从居家照料过渡的决策。这些对于针对老年人及其照料者的政策和实践而言都是重要的考虑因素。
