43 “Out of Duty and Love”: The Similar Experiences and Needs of Diverse Family Caregivers

Faculty Mentor: Anne V. Kirby ( Occupational & Recreational Therapies, University of Utah)

Objective: This is a qualitative research study that aims to understand the similarities across a variety of diverse caregiving experiences, including a broad range of age, caregiving relationship, and chronic illness or disability.

Background: A family caregiver, also referred to as an informal caregiver, aids with an array of tasks for an individual with a chronic health condition or disability who cannot safely function on their own. Previous research has focused on specific caregiving situations, leading to much uncertainty concerning the experiences and needs of caregivers on a broad spectrum. This study aims to discover the shared life of diverse caregivers to help effect change in current and future policies to better support a broad population of caregivers.

Method: Three virtual focus groups were held with a purposive sample of caregivers (n=26) caring for an individual with a chronic disability or health condition that they have an established relationship with. We used an inductive, iterative process to guide our thematic analysis.

Results: The participants largely demonstrated shared experiences and needs among their diverse caregiving situations. We identified common themes of experience to be: Doing it All; Changes Over Time; Complex Emotions; and Expectations. We identified common themes of needs to be: Breaks and Care of Self; Help, Support, and Resources; and Understanding and Recognition.

Conclusion: Our findings suggest the shared experiences and needs among caregivers are significant, despite a myriad of caregiving situations. The deeper understanding of life as a caregiver obtained from this study is applicable to future research, medical professionals, and new and existing policies concerning caregiving.