| Summary: | 碩士 === 臺北醫學大學 === 護理學研究所 === 93 === With the growth of aging population, advance of medical technology and rapid change of social-economic structure, “institution placement” for disabled elders has become a painful experience for most families. This study aimed at describing the coping experience of caregiver families of role adaptation, change of family boundary and resources development under the family system viewpoint and Chinese traditional culture vein. Phenomenological research design was used. Collaizzi’s (1978) phenomenology analytic method was used to analyze interview data from 10 family caregivers with their disable elderly institutionalized experience from August to October of 2004.
The findings indicated that family adaptation experience can be categorized to five domains, and 15 themes:
1. Relationship changes: including “transformed spousal relationships: attachments, detachments, and facing the format of living alone”, “new intergenerational relationship”, and “establishments of the connections and reparations familial philosophy through regular visits and fulfillments of promises”.
2. Flow of emotional experiences: includes “guilt feeling after each visit”, “Endless yearning”, and enduring “criticizing from other family networks”.
3. Role shifting: After institutionalization, the family caregivers underwent emotional adjustments, experienced the “releasing and re-obtaining” caregiver roles to establish a harmony relationship among the family caregiving, the disabled elderly and the institutions.
4. Family transfiguration: includes “reemergence of inter family network resource”, “exploration of external social network” and “planning for ageing life.”
5. Realizing the value of life: includes “sharing self, walking out of insufficiencies”, “choice between life and death, understanding the meaning of true love”, and “lamenting the brevity of life, and cherishing the present”.
The following suggestions are made based on research results:
In the nursing practice, establish caregiver family self development groups to share learning experiences, to support and help each other growth; help institutions to recognize the value of the caregivers’ active participation in care-taking; arrange suitable visiting situations; enhance caregiving teams; and empower professional roles were recommended.
In nursing education, one can reestablish the “person centered care” nursing philosophy. Further, enhance the life-and-death philosophies and grief counseling in curriculum and service.
Finally, actively promote planning for retire life between elders and, their family caregiver were recommended for policy implementation
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