Daughter Caregivers For Mothers With Dementia Lived Experiences: A Qualitative Research Study

Date of Award

Fall 2021

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Healthcare Administration (DHA)

Committee Chair

Gail Frankle

Committee Member

Karen Lankisch

Committee Member

David Meckstroth

Abstract

Daughter caregivers for mothers with dementia lived experiences were explored in this dissertation study. The purpose of this research was to address a gap in existing literature concerning the lived experiences of daughters who formerly provided home care for their mothers with dementia and identify ways they improved their experiences. Dementia home care requires a high demand of attention, time, and resources which can negatively impact caregivers mentally, physically, and financially. It is important to identify ways to cope with aspects of dementia care to help families improve their caregiving experience. This study used a qualitative descriptive approach to address the research question and two sub-research questions. The concepts of Caregiver Identity Theory and coping strategies was used as a guide for this study. A convenience and snowball sample of 13 daughters who provided primary home care for their mothers with dementia participated in open-ended Zoom interviews and provided in-depth responses on their lived experiences with dementia caregiving. The interviews were transcribed verbatim, coded, and analyzed for major themes. ATLAS.ti Cloud software was used for coding analysis of the collected data. Four major themes and eight sub-themes resulted from the interviews to inform the research. Insights on coping strategies and advice on how to improve the caregiving experience were revealed from each participant. The insightful findings contributed to research by providing future caregivers with helpful advice to cope with caring for a relative with dementia and informed the development of effective dementia care interventions for healthcare professionals.

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