As older couples age, often one partner becomes more competent and able to care for the other, in which case they are able to remain in their homes. In one township in the northeastern United States, the caregiving role had a significant effect on the lives of elderly men who care for their wives. The purpose of this quantitative project study was to determine the relationship between perceived stress burden and perceived level of social support services and between perceived stress burden and use of support services by elderly male spousal caregivers residing in active adult communities. Watson's theory of caring provided the theoretical foundation for this study. A correlational design was used and data were collected from 82 elderly male spousal caregivers with (a) the Zarit Burden Interview; (b) the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support; and (c) a checklist, Support Services in Your Area. Descriptive analysis indicated that participants carry a large stress burden, particularly emotional stress (Zarit Burden score of 36.58/65), enjoy strong social support (Multidimensional Scale score of 45.47/75), and use few community services. Pearson's product-moment correlation revealed no significant relationship between perceived stress burden and perceived social support or between perceived stress burden and use of community services, indicating that men feel emotional stress but the feelings are not related to their use of community services. As community services were not used by elderly male caregiver spouses, a workshop for professionals was developed to help the professionals expand programs and services that may have value for these men in their caregiver role. This study has social significance because satisfaction with the caregiver role has consequences for the health and financial well-being of the elderly and for U.S. society.

我國面臨高齡化社會的趨勢，為因應老人照顧需求快速增加，家庭作為老人照顧支持體系的一環，有關老人家庭照顧者的議題得到來自各種專業領域的重視。檢視國內外既有文獻的討論，對於家庭照顧者的照顧經驗及困境，已累積有豐富的研究成果，然而，相關研究成果基本上著重於日益增加的照顧需求如何影響女性照顧者的生活。有鑑於前人研究發現，兩性在照顧工作方面的投入與影響確有差異，因此，為求對我國家庭照顧者有更全面性及完整性的思考，確有需要對從事家庭照顧的男性加以瞭解。本研究立基於國內既有研究成果及國外相關研究的啟發，透過性別關注的角度切入家庭照顧議題，以我國佔三至四成的男性照顧者為對象，瞭解我國男性家庭照顧者的獨特照顧經驗。本研究目的包括：(一)探討男性家庭照顧者形成的歷程；(二)男性照顧者對照顧工作的經驗感受及其影響；(三)男性家庭照顧者的應付策略及社會支持；(四)提出具性別敏感的政策參考。 本研究採用質性研究方法，深入訪談十二位正在從事家庭照顧工作的男性。重要研究發現為：(一)男性家庭照顧者形成的歷程，依序決定於「勞動就業狀況」、「性別角色規範」以及「親屬關係」。(二)男性家庭照顧者的經驗感受，在情緒認知、表達方式及角色自主性方面，存在男性氣概與照顧者被期待特質之間的矛盾拉扯，同時面臨就業及照顧工作的衝突。(三)男性家庭照顧者的應付策略，傾向以工具性問題解決模式，運用個人經濟資源的優勢，解決照顧工作的困境，其方法包括：創新照顧方法、調整自己的想法、及分攤照顧責任。最後，本研究分別從「保障老人權益減少依賴」、「提供性別適切的照顧者福利支持措施」、「解構照顧工作之性別分化」三個方面提出政策建議。 / As a response to the increasing demand of elder care in the modern aging society, the issue of home care for the elder has attracted more attention in several academic fields. In the literature, there have been some research findings about the experiences and challenges of home caregivers. However, these discussions primarily focused on the impact of caring works on the female caregivers. According to the previous research, there exists significant difference between male and female caregivers in their ways of input and impact from caring work. There is a need to study the topics of male caregivers in order to have a thorough understanding of home caregivers. This thesis studies the relations between gender difference and caregiving by exploring the unique experience of male caregivers, who take 30% to 40% share of total caregivers in Taiwan. The main purposes of this research include: (i) the formation of male caregivers; (ii) the experience and impact of caring work on the male caregivers; (iii) the coping strategy of male caregivers and their social support; (iv) the accordingly policy suggestions with gender-sense. This study adopts qualitative research methods by interviewing twelve male caregivers in Taiwan. The major findings can be summarized as (i) The formation of male caregivers depend on the job market condition, the normative gender role, and kinship relations. (ii) There exist conflicts between socially expected characteristics of care providers and male care provider's masculinity in the caregiving process. Examples include the conflicts between recognized and actual ways of emotion expression, between autonomic and constrained (defined) role playing, and between personal career development and home care works. (iii) The male caregivers develop several innovative problem solving strategies, such as using personal economic resources, adjusting predominate thinking, and sharing care responsibilities with others. Finally, this study provides concrete policy implications in three aspects: reducing elders' dependence, increasing governmental support with gender-sense for caregivers, and de-constructing the division of gender on caregiving systems.

As older couples age, often one partner becomes more competent and able to care for the other, in which case they are able to remain in their homes. In one township in the northeastern United States, the caregiving role had a significant effect on the lives of elderly men who care for their wives. The purpose of this quantitative project study was to determine the relationship between perceived stress burden and perceived level of social support services and between perceived stress burden and use of support services by elderly male spousal caregivers residing in active adult communities. Watson's theory of caring provided the theoretical foundation for this study. A correlational design was used and data were collected from 82 elderly male spousal caregivers with (a) the Zarit Burden Interview; (b) the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support; and (c) a checklist, Support Services in Your Area. Descriptive analysis indicated that participants carry a large stress burden, particularly emotional stress (Zarit Burden score of 36.58/65), enjoy strong social support (Multidimensional Scale score of 45.47/75), and use few community services. Pearson's product-moment correlation revealed no significant relationship between perceived stress burden and perceived social support or between perceived stress burden and use of community services, indicating that men feel emotional stress but the feelings are not related to their use of community services. As community services were not used by elderly male caregiver spouses, a workshop for professionals was developed to help the professionals expand programs and services that may have value for these men in their caregiver role. This study has social significance because satisfaction with the caregiver role has consequences for the health and financial well-being of the elderly and for U.S. society.

Ny statistikk viser økende forekomst av aldersdemens blant eldre. Menn utgjør en økende gruppe omsorgsgivere. Disse mennene har fått relativt liten forskningsmessig oppmerksomhet, det finnes en begrenset mengde litteratur tilgjengelig om menn som omsorgsgivere for ektefeller med aldersdemens. Der er derfor viktig å gi dette feltet forskningsmessig oppmerksomhet, blant annet for å kunne gi helsepersonell kunnskap om denne gruppen. Med økt innsikt i mennenes opplevelse av sin situasjon vil de kunne gis bedre følelsesmessig og praktisk assistanse i omsorgsarbeidet sitt. Det ble gjennomført en studie med fokus på ektefeller av menn med demente ektefeller ved bruk av Grounded Theory som metode. Studien ble basert på opplevelsene til ni menn, seks av dem hadde omsorg for hjemmeboende ektefelle, de tre andre hadde flerårige erfaringer med å ha dement ektefelle hjemme men hadde nå sine ektefeller i sykehjem og fulgte dem opp der. Data ble samlet gjennom dybdeintervjuer tatt opp på bånd. Intervjuene ble analysert ved bruk av Grounded Theory. Det ble funnet fem hovedkategorier, mestring, ensomhet, lojalitet, sorg og tap av felleskap med ektefelle / Recent statistics reveal a growth in the incident of Alzheimer disease and related dementia amongst elderly. Males make up an increasing group of caregivers, yet little attention has been given to them as that, there is limited literature available on husbands as caregivers for wives with the disease. Therefore, the need to conduct research in the area of male caregivers is essential if nurses and other help personnel are to understand and provide appropriate support and care for male caregivers. A qualitative study which focused on the experience of husbands who are home caregivers of wives diagnosed with dementia was conducted using Grounded Theory as research method. The study was based on the experience of nine husbands, six of them were caregiving for their wives at home at the time of the interview, the others had their wives in an institutional setting after years of home caregiving. Data collected during in-dept tape recorded interviews with the participants was analysed using Grounded Theory. Five major categories themes emerged from the participants stories, coping methods, loneliness, grief, loyalty and loss of fellowship in relationship. / <p>ISBN 91-7997-140-7</p>