Ka Man Cheng, Ivy Yan Zhao, Della Maneze, Eleanor Holroyd, Angela Yee Man Leung
{"title":"Family Caregivers' Perceptions and Experiences of Supporting Older People to Cope With Loneliness: A Qualitative Interview Study","authors":"Ka Man Cheng, Ivy Yan Zhao, Della Maneze, Eleanor Holroyd, Angela Yee Man Leung","doi":"10.1111/inm.13398","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>Loneliness has become a significant public health issue among community-dwelling older adults particularly those with multimorbidity. Family caregivers are crucial care resources for dependent older adults living in the community before transitioning to institutional services. However, understanding of their perceptions in supporting older adults with multimorbidity to cope with loneliness is limited. This qualitative study aimed to elucidate on the experiences of caring and explore the experiences and perceptions of family caregivers in supporting older community-dwelling adults with multimorbidity to cope with loneliness. Eleven family caregivers, aged 51–93 years old, with at least 2 years of caregiving experience were purposively recruited and interviewed individually. The Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) checklist was utilised to report the study. Three key themes were generated from the inductive analysis: (1) recognising older adults' loneliness through the expression of unusual emotions, behaviour/s, social network alteration and speech; (2) variations in perceptions and responses to loneliness among different family caregiving relationships; and (3) challenges in addressing loneliness. Positive feedback from cared-for older adults was appreciated by their family caregivers which in turn motivated further actions to alleviate loneliness. The findings emphasised the importance of developing specific patients and family caregivers centred interventions, such as communication skills training to enhance effective communications. Cultural values and norms of individuals should be respected in those interventions, ensuring that emotional expression is facilitated in a comfortable way for both older patients and family caregivers.</p>","PeriodicalId":14007,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Mental Health Nursing","volume":"33 6","pages":"2284-2292"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6000,"publicationDate":"2024-07-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/inm.13398","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International Journal of Mental Health Nursing","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/inm.13398","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"NURSING","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Loneliness has become a significant public health issue among community-dwelling older adults particularly those with multimorbidity. Family caregivers are crucial care resources for dependent older adults living in the community before transitioning to institutional services. However, understanding of their perceptions in supporting older adults with multimorbidity to cope with loneliness is limited. This qualitative study aimed to elucidate on the experiences of caring and explore the experiences and perceptions of family caregivers in supporting older community-dwelling adults with multimorbidity to cope with loneliness. Eleven family caregivers, aged 51–93 years old, with at least 2 years of caregiving experience were purposively recruited and interviewed individually. The Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) checklist was utilised to report the study. Three key themes were generated from the inductive analysis: (1) recognising older adults' loneliness through the expression of unusual emotions, behaviour/s, social network alteration and speech; (2) variations in perceptions and responses to loneliness among different family caregiving relationships; and (3) challenges in addressing loneliness. Positive feedback from cared-for older adults was appreciated by their family caregivers which in turn motivated further actions to alleviate loneliness. The findings emphasised the importance of developing specific patients and family caregivers centred interventions, such as communication skills training to enhance effective communications. Cultural values and norms of individuals should be respected in those interventions, ensuring that emotional expression is facilitated in a comfortable way for both older patients and family caregivers.
期刊介绍:
The International Journal of Mental Health Nursing is the official journal of the Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc. It is a fully refereed journal that examines current trends and developments in mental health practice and research.
The International Journal of Mental Health Nursing provides a forum for the exchange of ideas on all issues of relevance to mental health nursing. The Journal informs you of developments in mental health nursing practice and research, directions in education and training, professional issues, management approaches, policy development, ethical questions, theoretical inquiry, and clinical issues.
The Journal publishes feature articles, review articles, clinical notes, research notes and book reviews. Contributions on any aspect of mental health nursing are welcomed.
Statements and opinions expressed in the journal reflect the views of the authors and are not necessarily endorsed by the Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.