Health and environmental sciences

Alzheimer's disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States and more than five million Americans are living with the disease (Alzheimer's Association, 2016). Alzheimer's disease takes a devastating toll on caregivers. According to Richardson, Lee, Berg-Weger, and Grossberg (2013), many factors influence the perceived burden of caring for a relative or friend with Alzheimer's disease (Richardson et al., 2013). These factors include characteristics of the caregiver, such as kinship ties, gender, psychological resources, and coping strategies.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the grief/bereavement process of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) caregivers following death of a family member in long-term care (LTC) and develop a theoretical model of this phenomenon based upon in-depth individual interviews. There is limited evidence examining ADRD caregiver grief and bereavement following family member death in LTC settings. Grounded Theory methodology has not been utilized to explore this phenomenon.