Browsing by Subject "Caregiver"
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Item Open Access Exploring the Link Between Mental Health of Caregivers and the Orphaned and Abandoned Children They Care for: An Investigation in Delhi, India(2020-04) Vashisth, ShagunAlternative care models for orphaned and abandoned children (OACs) have recently become a priority, especially in nations like India, with high populations of OACs. Despite the shift from institutional care towards a family-based model of alternative care in which caregivers are a central part of the residential care ecosystem, there is still a great lack of research exploring the mental health of OAC caregivers and the impact that caregiver mental health has on OAC wellbeing. This study involved interviewing 123 children and 34 caregivers within a residential care program that comprised 14 individual homes. Participants were administered psychometric questionnaires to gauge anxiety, depression, trauma, and caregiver attachment. The results identified the high trauma and negative psychological sequelae facing this program’s caregivers. Additionally, caregiver mental health outcomes were not found to be associated with child mental health outcomes. While this work did not statistically link caregiver mental health with child mental health, it is inevitable that a shared living environment intimately exposes each group to the other. To this end, more research is needed to understand the nuances of how traumatic life histories affect a caregiver’s mental health, parenting ability, and the mental health of the children they care for.Item Open Access Finding Meaning in the Dementia Caregiving Relationship(2011) Shim, BominCaregivers of individuals with dementia describe a wide spectrum of caregiving experiences, ranging from very negative to very positive. Previous literature acknowledges these differing experiences, but how and why they differ has rarely been investigated. Dementia caregiving can be burdensome with many psychological, physical, social and financial challenges. However, it can also be an opportunity for growth and transcendence as caregivers find meaning in caregiving. High levels of mutuality (the perception that the quality of the care relationship is positive), reportedly ameliorates negative caregiver outcomes. Thus, this dissertation consists of three studies that explore aspects of the caregiver-care recipient relationship that may enhance positive caregiving experiences.
The first study was a secondary analysis of factors related to caregivers' perceptions of care relationship mutuality over a 12 month period. Caregivers who reported high mutuality were less likely to be depressed and more likely to provide care for longer periods before deciding to institutionalize the care recipient. The second study was a secondary analysis of caregiver interviews. It revealed that caregivers who reported a positive caregiving experience described both their past and present relationship in loving terms and reported that they understood their care recipient could not reciprocate. These caregivers focused on aspects of the relationship that still existed, rather than on what they had lost. They expressed satisfaction with caregiving, were other-focused, and reported little caregiving burden. The third study was a qualitative descriptive study. Caregivers who reported finding meaning in caregiving were interviewed to explore how they were able to do so. These caregivers used strategies such as accepting the situation, deciding to care, choosing a positive attitude, focusing on the blessings of caregiving, and actively seeking care resources. They demonstrated altruistic values and the determination and discipline to live those values. They also possessed strong faith, love, and social support, and said they had derived strength from past challenges.
Clinicians and researchers should explore the quality of the caregiving relationship as a critical factor in caregiver and care recipient outcomes. Caregiver interventions should include relationship-building skills and empathy building techniques to offset adverse caregiver outcomes and enhance understanding and acceptance of changes that occur in the care recipient over time.