Xiuxiang Zhang, Zhang Xiubin, Hockley Jo
Associate Professor, Economics and Management School, Wuhan University/Huanghuai University, China.
Associate Professor, School of Nursing, Lanzhou University, China.
J Res Nurs. 2020 Dec;25(8):636-649. doi: 10.1177/1744987120925128. Epub 2020 Jun 23.
Globally, two thirds of people with dementia are cared for by their families or friends. Family caregivers' coping strategies of managing the caregiving burden of dementia have been studied widely in western literature. However, few attempts have been made to explore the experience of family caregivers' coping strategies in China. The aim of this study was to explore the family caregivers' coping strategies when caring for people with dementia in one city in the province of Shandong, China.
Fourteen family caregivers were individually interviewed, and interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to identify themes within different family members.
Four key themes were found: (a) being filial; (b) changing self and self-care; (c) seeking help; and (d) having hope and continuing life.
The study illustrates the different strategies developed by family members in order to cope with their new roles when caring for a relative who has dementia. It shows that cultural belief of filial piety plays a large role across these various coping strategies. It highlights how responsibility has been maintained and influenced by the specific sociocultural context. The results provide a useful foundation for developing interventions that support family caregivers cope with the burden of caring in this population.
在全球范围内，三分之二的痴呆症患者由其家人或朋友照料。西方文献中对家庭照料者应对痴呆症照料负担的策略进行了广泛研究。然而，在中国，很少有人尝试探索家庭照料者应对策略的经历。本研究的目的是探讨在中国山东省某一城市中，家庭照料者在照料痴呆症患者时的应对策略。
对14名家庭照料者进行了个体访谈，并采用解释现象学分析方法来确定不同家庭成员中的主题。
发现了四个关键主题：(a) 尽孝；(b) 改变自我与自我照顾；(c) 寻求帮助；以及(d) 怀有希望并继续生活。
该研究阐述了家庭成员为应对照料患有痴呆症的亲属这一新角色而制定的不同策略。研究表明，孝道文化信仰在这些不同的应对策略中发挥着重要作用。它凸显了责任是如何在特定的社会文化背景下得以维持和受到影响的。研究结果为制定支持家庭照料者应对这一人群照料负担的干预措施提供了有益的基础。
