You are here

  1. Home
  2. Older Adult Spouses with Multiple Chronic Conditions: Challenges, Rewards, and Coping Strategies

Older Adult Spouses with Multiple Chronic Conditions: Challenges, Rewards, and Coping Strategies

There is a paucity of research exploring how spouses to older adults with multiple chronic conditions make meaning of their caregiving experience. For this study, we asked: What is the experience of spousal caregivers to persons with multiple chronic conditions? We applied Thorne's interpretive description approach, interviewing 18 spouses who provided a rich description of their caregiving experience; interviews were transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed. Themes were categorized according to challenges encountered, rewards gleaned, and sustaining strategies employed by participants in caregiving to their spouse with multiple chronic conditions. Unique findings relate to the challenges inherent in decision-making within the context of multiple chronic conditions. This article begins to address the gap in the literature regarding the caregiving experience within the context of multiple chronic conditions.

Access source material through DOI

Key Information

Type of Reference
Jour
Type of Work
Journal article
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
ISBN/ISSN
07149808
Publication Year
2017
Issue Number
2
Journal Titles
Canadian Journal on Aging
Volume Number
36
Start Page
209
End Page
222