A Descriptive Qualitative Study of Foreign Caregivers of Older Adult Stroke Survivors

This study aimed to explore and describe the experiences of Indonesian foreign caregivers, the largest migrant working population in Taiwan, who reside with and provide support to older adults with stroke and their families.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: By adopting a descriptive qualitative approach, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 22 Indonesian caregivers (mean age: 36 years) who were providing care to community-dwelling older stroke survivors (age ≥ 65 years) in Taiwan. Data were analyzed through thematic analysis.RESULTS: Six themes were constructed from the interviews: (1) foreign caregiver's background, (2) foreign caregiver's perception of the health and functional status of stroke survivors, (3) foreign caregiver's values and preferences, (4) consequences of caring for stroke survivors, (5) skills/abilities/knowledge of foreign caregivers to provide stroke survivors with required care, and (6) potential resources that foreign caregivers can use.DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Foreign caregivers described positive and negative aspects of caring for stroke survivors. Differences in language, religion, culture, values and expectations between foreign caregivers and stroke survivors influence the caregiving experience. These findings can help Taiwan and other developed countries to better support foreign caregivers providing critical care to older adults with stroke and their families.PMID:35660857 | DOI:10.1093/geront/gnac077
Source: The Gerontologist - Category: Geriatrics Authors: Source Type: research