Melilla Hege Stokmo, Sverre Beate Lie, Eilertsen Grethe, Tønnessen Siri
Department of Nursing and Health Sciences, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, University of South-Eastern Norway, 215 Raveien, Borre, Vestfold, 3184, Norway.
USN Research Group of Older Peoples' Health, University of South-Eastern Norway, 58 Grønland, Drammen, 3045, Norway.
BMC Health Serv Res. 2024 Dec 18;24(1):1600. doi: 10.1186/s12913-024-12097-3.
In today's healthcare systems, older family caregivers who care for their spouses at home are indispensable providers of healthcare. However, many of these caregivers are at risk of becoming ill themselves. To prevent this and to guide the development of targeted healthcare services, home-care personnel need knowledge on how to promote the health of older family caregivers. The purpose of this study was to understand the health-promoting experiences of older family caregivers who care for their home-dwelling spouses receiving home-care services.
The experiences of older family caregivers were explored using a narrative design that involved narrative interviews and a narrative thematic and structural analytical approach. The sample consisted of four husbands and six wives aged 79-91 years. In the analysis, two storylines of narratives were constructed: one by husbands and one by wives.
In the husbands' narrative, continuation of everyday life and social support in everyday life were highlighted as being health-promoting. In the wives' narrative, the importance of having time for oneself and being seen, heard and included by the home-care personnel were emphasized as promoting their health. The husbands' narrative contained stories of the past and the present, while the wives' narrative mainly comprised stories of the present.
This study has provided insights into the narratives of older husbands and wives acting as family caregivers regarding what promotes their health caring for their spouses at home. Their stories show variations in care style, coping style and experiences of the caregiver burden. These findings suggest that home-care services should consider providing customized health-promoting services to older family caregivers who are providing care to their home-dwelling spouses receiving home-care services. Given the sample size of only ten participants, further qualitative and quantitative research is needed.
在当今的医疗保健系统中，在家照顾配偶的老年家庭照顾者是不可或缺的医疗保健提供者。然而，这些照顾者中有许多人自身也有患病风险。为防止这种情况发生并指导针对性医疗服务的发展，家庭护理人员需要了解如何促进老年家庭照顾者的健康。本研究的目的是了解那些在家照顾接受家庭护理服务的配偶的老年家庭照顾者的健康促进经历。
采用叙事设计探索老年家庭照顾者的经历，该设计包括叙事访谈以及叙事主题和结构分析方法。样本包括4名年龄在79 - 91岁之间的丈夫和6名妻子。在分析中，构建了两条叙事线索：一条由丈夫构建，一条由妻子构建。
在丈夫的叙事中，强调日常生活的延续以及日常生活中的社会支持具有促进健康的作用。在妻子的叙事中，强调有属于自己的时间以及被家庭护理人员关注、倾听和接纳对促进她们的健康很重要。丈夫的叙事包含过去和现在的故事，而妻子的叙事主要由现在的故事组成。
本研究深入了解了作为家庭照顾者的老年夫妻关于在家照顾配偶时促进他们健康的叙事。他们的故事显示了照顾方式、应对方式以及照顾者负担经历的差异。这些发现表明，家庭护理服务应考虑为那些在家照顾接受家庭护理服务的配偶的老年家庭照顾者提供定制的健康促进服务。鉴于样本量仅为10名参与者，需要进一步开展定性和定量研究。
