Abstract
AIM: To provide lifeworld insights into experiences of adult children with caring responsibility for an 80+-year-old chronically ill parent with frailty.
BACKGROUND: Informal care is common in Nordic welfare countries; however, little is known about adult children's experience of caring responsibility in this setting.
DESIGN: A phenomenological-hermeneutic study based on Reflective Lifeworld Research.
METHODS: Diaries and semi-structured interviews with 12 adult children.
RESULTS: Caring responsibility is identified as "a condition of life, filled with uncertainty." Three constituents contribute to this phenomenon: (a) balancing love, duty and reciprocity; (b) being the parent's advocate and manager; and (c) experiencing concerns and bodily strain.
CONCLUSION: Adult children work hard to provide care and enhance the well-being of their parent. Heidegger's concept 'Fürsorge' may help us understand how by showing how caring responsibility means balancing different roles vis-à-vis the parent, one's own life and the health and social systems. Caring responsibility changes the relationship between parent and child.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Nursing Open |
| Volume | 7 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| Pages (from-to) | 951-960 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| ISSN | 2054-1058 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jul 2020 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Adult
- Aged, 80 and over
- Caregivers
- Chronic Disease
- Frailty
- Hermeneutics
- Humans
- Parents
- Scandinavian and Nordic Countries
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