Alzheimer's disease impacts many older adults within the United States and African Americans are at a higher risk for developing Alzheimer's disease. Most of their care is provided by their adult daughters, who are often tasked with managing multiple care responsibilities within their families. Prior research has examined one aspect of the caregiving experience for African American caregivers but not how their intersecting identities impact their experiences. As such, this study served to contextualize and highlight the nuances of their caregiving experiences. Using Intersectionality Theory as a guiding theoretical framework, this qualitative study explored how African American adult daughter caregivers navigated their family relationships while caring for a parent with Alzheimer's disease. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twenty-six African American adult daughters caring for a parent with Alzheimer's disease. Findings revealed that 1) families came together by collaborating on decisions, connecting as a family and speaking regularly, and directly assisting and helping the caregiver, 2) family ideology about African American women and care influenced what the family expected of caregivers and what caregivers expected of themselves, and 3) caregivers are under compounding amounts of stress related to general caregiving strain, time, and racism/discrimination. These findings provide a more contextualized and holistic depiction of African American caregivers and their families. Future research and practical implications are discussed. / Doctor of Philosophy / There are high rates of Alzheimer's disease among older adults within the United States and African Americans are more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's disease impacts the individual, their main caregivers, and their families. Adult daughters provide most of the care to individuals with Alzheimer's disease while also having other responsibilities within their families. The goal of this study was to get a better understanding of changes in caregivers' family relationships as they care for their parents with Alzheimer's disease. I interviewed 26 African American adult daughter caregivers. The caregivers shared important information about changes in their family relationships and explained how they had been impacted by caregiving. Findings revealed that African American families came together to support the caregiver, families have unspoken rules about how care should be provided, and caregivers experience high amounts of stress because of caregiving. The results can help clinicians, medical professionals, and policymakers be better able to support African American families of individuals with Alzheimer's disease. Future research studies and best practices for clinicians are discussed.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/115062 |
| Date | 15 May 2023 |
| Creators | Scott-Poe, Deneisha S. |
| Contributors | Adult Learning and Human Resource Development, Dolbin-MacNab, Megan Leigh, Katz, Benjamin D., Sanner, Caroline, Few-Demo, April L. |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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