Thecla Damianakis, Kimberley Wilson and Elsa Marziali conducted a study that was published in Aging & Mental Health , in 2018. The researchers investigated the burden of caregiving and its impact on the quality of care. Thus, the objective of the study was to identify the role of spirituality in guiding caregivers in their responsibilities. The study concluded that spiritual beliefs and practices affect how caregivers respond to their roles and care recipients. The literature review focused on assessing the current and relevant studies on the implications of caregiving. The authors conducted a qualitative analysis of the relevance of spirituality and its value during the caregiving process. The setting of the study was an online video conferencing intervention program for caregivers.
Twenty-four participants were selected for the study, whereby the sampling method included six individuals that provided spousal care to patients with AD or FTD. The methodology involved eighteen AD and six FTD caregivers who participated in the evidence-based program. The participants were engaged in a 10-weekly online Care for Others support sessions that were aided by qualified gerontological social work specialists. Each of the support group sessions was recorded, reviewed and evaluated using a line-by-line and hierarchical coding methods, and completed by a thematic comparison methodology for all group sessions.
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Content analysis of the study proved that the caregivers' spirituality and meaningfulness affect their caregiving experiences. Caregivers use spirituality to find meaning in their roles by engaging in a religious support group, participating in activities that promote personal faith and beliefs and nurturing their belief system.
The strength of the study was the researchers' ability to examine how spirituality affects the caregivers' interaction with the care recipient. The professional observation by the researchers strengthens the findings of the study. The researchers acknowledged that there were a few limitations in their studies. The main limitation is that the qualitative analysis demographic information did not include the different aspects of the participants' lives that may affect their caregiving experiences. Factors such as race, sex, income, and religion were not considered as part of the demographic data.
Reference
Damianakis, T., Wilson, K., and Marziali, E. (2018). Family caregiver support groups: spiritual reflections’ impact on stress management. Aging & Mental Health , VOL. 22, NO. 1, 70–76. Retrieved from:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2016.1231169
