KEEP ON GOING: CAREGIVING BY SPOUSES OF CVA PATIENTS IN THE HOME.
Contributors: University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Published: 1989
Number of pages: 103
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: Cerebrovascular Accident (CVA) is a major public health problem in terms of mortality and disability. A large number of these disabled patients will be cared for in the home. Thus, it becomes imperative that nurses have knowledge of the caregiving phenomenon to assist family members who become caregivers in the home.

Little research has been done to describe the caregiving experience as perceived by spouses of chronically ill patients. Therefore, the purpose of this research study was to investigate the caregiving phenomenon in the home as perceived by the spouse caregivers of CVA patients.

Grounded theory methodology was utilized to answer the questions: (a) What are the problems of caregiving in the home as perceived by spouses of CVA patients? and (b) What are strategies of caregiving in the home as perceived by spouses of CVA patients? A total of 20 spouse caregivers were interviewed.

Organizing concepts were developed from the data. Caregivers described increased responsibility, worrying, changing roles in the family, and curtailing of activities as the problems of caregiving. Keep On Going was the concept that enabled the caregiver spouses to continue to participate in caregiving in spite of changes in their lives. Keep On Going consisted of three supporting concepts: Acknowledging Feelings, Performing Tasks, and Looking Ahead.

It was concluded from this study that Keep On Going is an important process which is both meaningful and useful to the caregiver. Recommendations for clinical practice include sharing the concept of Keep On Going in preparing spouse caregivers for home care at the time of hospital discharge. Curricula in the Schools of Nursing must include emphasis on home care and how to prepare family members to become caregivers. Recommendations for research include expanding the study to include comparison groups such as caregivers who had been in this role for longer than 3 years, caregivers who had to admit their spouses to nursing homes, and adult caregivers of their frail parents. This would shed light on the question of whether Keep On Going and the other concepts are utilized in other caregiving situations.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 50-09, Section: B, page: 3917.

Thesis (D.S.N.)--UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM, 1989.

School code: 0005.