Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Louisville, 2009. / Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences. Vita. "December 2009." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 65-76).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Brown University, 2005. / Vita. Thesis advisor: Andrew D. Foster. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 71-75). Also available online.

Thesis (M. Communication Pathology)--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Summary in English and Afrikaans. Includes bibliographical references.

No description available.

M.A. (Clinical Psychology) / Families, most commonly the adult daughters, provide the majority of informal caregiving. Research has focused on the negative implications of being a home caregiver to someone with an illness such as dementia, with very few studies considering the positive aspects that are associated with caregiving. This phenomenological study seeks to gain a deeper understanding into the holistic experience of Muslim women who are the primary home caregivers of a family member who has been diagnosed with dementia. Furthermore, this study contributes to the growing body of caregiving literature by considering the cultural context in which caregiving occurs. The sample is composed of three Muslim home caregivers of a family member living with dementia. Semi-structured interviews were used to obtain an in depth account of the participants’ experiences of caregiving. Data received for this study was analysed in accordance with Smith and Osborn’s (2008) steps for the method of interpretive phenomenological analysis. Themes that have emerged from the study include 1) understanding the condition; 2) reorganisation of life and the change of attitude towards caregiving; 3) social support; 4) strengthening the relationship with God and spiritual growth; 5) decision to care for the family member at home; and 6) anger and forgiveness. Through the interpretation of these themes, it was found that the caregivers’ cultural and religious values were deeply rooted and that the caregiving process can be transformed from a negative experience into a positive and meaningful experience provided that the caregiver changes their attitudes regarding their role and situation. Future research needs to be conducted to understand the various cultural contexts that influence the caregiving process.

As Canada’s population gradually ages, provinces such as British Columbia are beginning to explore initiatives to support family caregivers of the frail elderly. The focus of this dissertation is the evaluation of one such initiative; a program sponsored by the B.C. Ministry of Health (Continuing Care Division) called “Supporting Caregivers in B.C.” (SCBC). The SCBC program was created as a province-wide community development initiative to establish caregiver education and support groups in 17 communities throughout B.C. This dissertation research included nine research questions, which in turn were organized into four levels of evaluation questions: the individual caregiver level; the small group level; the community level; and the health care services level. These levels reflect the various levels at which the SCBC program was intended to have impacts, as well as the various empowering strategies the program aimed to employ. Due to the traditional over-reliance on quantitative methodologies used to evaluate caregiver groups, this dissertation research used a combination of research methodologies. These included participatory action research, qualitative evaluation research (focus group interviews) and quantitative survey research. Research participants included 76 family caregivers participating in the SCBC program, six SCBC caregiver support groups, and six SCBC community steering committees (which were responsible for the community development process in each community). The findings were varied, and related to both the outcomes and processes of the SCBC program. At the individual caregiver level, caregivers described a number of positive impacts the program had on them. In addition, participation in the program was associated with overall increases in the amount of social support caregivers received, as well as decreases in feelings of powerlessness and increases in feelings of powerfulness. At the small group level, caregiver groups provided information on what they needed for long-term sustainability, as well as describing what they felt were the essential beneficial aspects of their group process. At the community level, steering committees provided a profile of community characteristics affecting the SCBC community development process, and offered insights into the overall community development process. Finally, at the health care services level, although participation in the SCBC program was associated with increases in caregiver’s knowledge of community health services, it was not associated with changes in usage of those services, or changes in caregiver’s plans to place their care-receiver in a long-term care facility. / Graduate

Magister Artium (Psychology) - MA(Psych) / Apartheid created deep-rooted emotional scars of inequality, discrimination, and racial tension within the South African population. Literature regarding the population of contemporary South Africans remains, to some extent, divided by racial lines (Naidoo, Stanwix, & Yu, 2016; Harris, 2016). Since caregivers are the main socialisation agents influencing adolescents this research study sought to explore caregivers’ experiences of apartheid as a means to create an understanding of the views and perspectives of apartheid that are relayed by South African caregivers to their children.

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts (Clinical Psychology) in the Department of Psychology University of Zululand, South Africa, 2011. / While care-giving is a common topic, very few studies have been done on the experiences of caregivers in caring for the elderly in South Africa. This study focused on the subjective experiences of the caregivers caring for the elderly in one of the old age homes called La Gratitude in KwaZulu-Natal in a town called Newcastle, just under Km 400 north of the University of Zululand. This research study adopted qualitative research methods, although it also integrated elements of a quantitative approach. The study used non-random sampling techniques, in particular purposive sampling. The purposive sample of eight caregivers was selected from the old age home caregiver population. These caregivers’ ages ranged from age 28 to 39 years. The General Health Questionnaire and structured interviews were the tools used for the purpose of collecting the data. Content analysis was used for analyzing data in the present study. The research finding of this study indicated that even though there are challenges in the caregiving job; however the majority of the caregivers experienced the job of caring for the elderly as rewarding and enjoyable. / National Research Foundation (NRF)

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER of ARTS in Community Work in the Department of Social Work at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2003. / This study is about the attitudes of primary care givers who are caring for HIV/ AIDS orphans in the Ingwavuma area. As an evaluative research semi-structured interviews were conducted. A sample of -twenty primary care givers was drawn, 10 files were drawn from the Department of Welfare and Population Development Office and 10 files were drawn from the local non-government organisation called Ingwavuma Orphan Care. Permission to use departmental files was sought from the department concerned. Related literature that focuses on a HIV/AIDS and Orphanhood has been reviewed. Various recommendations have been made based on the findings of the study. The findings indicate that a need exist for training on parenting and coping skills. HIV/AIDS orphans need to be involved in counselling especially on trauma counselling, this can help a lot in improving the relationship between primary care givers and vulnerable children.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree Master of Science in Nursing, Faculty of Health sciences, University of the Witwatersrand. Johannesburg, 2018. / Design and Methods A qualitative descriptive design was used for this study and conducted 22 in-depth interviews purposively selected. Sample size was determined by data saturation and qualitative content analysis was used to analyse the data. The inclusion criteria were 18 years and older, ability to speak basic English, identified by the patient as the primary caregiver and willingness to participate. Findings: Participants had different relationships with the sick person; however, caring for a sick mother was the most common. Three themes arose from the data: emotional responses towards the care giver role, personal cost of care giving and spiritual issues relating to care giving. Caring for a person with cancer in the last phase of life was not easy. Participants were overwhelmed by the care responsibilities. Some could not cope with the new role as they were emotionally distressed. Participants were financial burdened by the care needs of the patients; care giving was costly while others sacrificed their source of income to provide care. Most participants used religious practices to cope with their situation. Conclusion: Caring for cancer patients at the last phase of life was not an easy task. Participants were overwhelmed by the responsibilities and demands of caregiving. Most participants were emotionally exhausted and drained and feeling inadequate to perform these responsibilities. The financial burden was related to the care needs of the sick person. The caring role lead to some participants losing their jobs to provide care to their sick loved one. / LG2018