Ang Seng Hock Martin, Poon Wing Hong Edward, Best Odette, Graham Coralie
Health and Social Sciences, Singapore Institute of Technology, Singapore, Singapore.
Office of the Pro Vice-Chancellor: First Nations/Strategy, University of Southern Queensland, Ipswich, Australia.
Support Care Cancer. 2025 Jan 17;33(2):111. doi: 10.1007/s00520-025-09166-6.
The Chinese community constitutes the largest demographic and faces the highest rates of cancer incidence in Singapore. Given this, palliative care plays a crucial role in supporting individuals, particularly those nearing the end of life, with family serving as their primary source of support. Many Chinese family caregivers in Singapore reported significant unmet needs in cancer care provision, with studies indicating that they often bear the brunt of caregiving responsibilities. Despite this, there has been a lack of research exploring the needs and perspectives of Chinese Singaporean family caregivers caring for terminally ill cancer patients at home. Thus, this study seeks to address this gap by investigating the lived experiences of Chinese Singaporean family caregivers providing end-of-life cancer care in a home setting.
This study employed a hermeneutic phenomenological approach, guided by the framework developed by van Manen (1990), to uncover the essential meaning of each participant's lived experience. In-depth, semi-structured virtual interviews were conducted face-to-face with ten Chinese Singaporean family caregivers. These caregivers shared their personal journeys of caring for a loved one with advanced cancer during their final stage of life at home. The interviews were audio recorded, and open-ended questions were used to facilitate discussion. Each interview lasted between 30 and 60 min. The principal investigator manually transcribed all audio recordings. Additionally, an external transcriber translated the interviews into written form to ensure accuracy and authenticity. The interview texts were then analyzed and interpreted using the philosophical underpinnings rooted in phenomenology.
The attempts to identify meanings and make sense of the Chinese Singaporean's lived experience led to the development of two main themes and eight sub-themes. Under the primary theme of "experiences from caregiving" comprises the sub-themes "being a caregiver," "suffering," and "well-being," and the major theme of "expectations in caregiving" encompasses the sub-themes "caregiving support," "decision-making," "communication," "spirituality," and "being a Chinese Singaporean".
In conclusion, addressing family caregivers' needs requires culturally sensitive nursing education, peer support initiatives, public awareness campaigns, and enhanced training for domestic helpers. These measures, coupled with further research into diverse cultural caregiving needs and male caregivers' experiences, will improve support systems and empower caregivers in their essential roles.
在新加坡，华人群体是人口最多的群体，且面临着最高的癌症发病率。鉴于此，姑息治疗在为个人，尤其是那些接近生命终点的人提供支持方面发挥着关键作用，家庭是他们主要的支持来源。新加坡许多华裔家庭照顾者报告称，在癌症护理方面存在大量未得到满足的需求，研究表明他们往往首当其冲承担照顾责任。尽管如此，一直缺乏对在家中照顾晚期癌症患者的新加坡华裔家庭照顾者的需求和观点的研究。因此，本研究旨在通过调查在家中提供临终癌症护理的新加坡华裔家庭照顾者的生活经历来填补这一空白。
本研究采用诠释现象学方法，以范曼恩（1990年）提出的框架为指导，以揭示每位参与者生活经历的本质意义。与十位新加坡华裔家庭照顾者进行了面对面的深入、半结构化虚拟访谈。这些照顾者分享了他们在家中照顾患有晚期癌症亲人度过生命最后阶段的个人经历。访谈进行了录音，并使用开放式问题促进讨论。每次访谈持续30至60分钟。首席研究员手动转录了所有录音。此外，一名外部转录员将访谈内容翻译成书面形式，以确保准确性和真实性。然后，使用扎根于现象学的哲学基础对访谈文本进行分析和解读。
对新加坡华裔生活经历的意义识别和理解尝试产生了两个主要主题和八个子主题。在“照顾经历”这一主要主题下包括“成为照顾者”“痛苦”和“幸福感”这些子主题，而“照顾期望”这一主要主题则涵盖“照顾支持”“决策”“沟通”“精神性”和“作为新加坡华裔”这些子主题。
总之，满足家庭照顾者的需求需要具有文化敏感性的护理教育、同伴支持举措、公众意识宣传活动以及加强对家政佣人的培训。这些措施，再加上对不同文化照顾需求和男性照顾者经历的进一步研究，将改善支持系统，并使照顾者能够更好地发挥其重要作用。
