TITLE:
“Being Free Like a Bird”―The Meaning of Being an Informal Caregiver for Persons with Dementia Who Are Receiving Day Care Services
AUTHORS:
Gunn Eva Solum Myren, Ingela Enmarker, Ellen Saur, Ove Hellzen
KEYWORDS:
Dementia, Informal Caregivers, Day Care Services, Phenomenological Hermeneutic, Goffman
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Nursing,
Vol.5 No.2,
February
6,
2015
ABSTRACT: Respite care in the form of day care is one of the several respite services that aims to provide temporary relief to informal caregivers from their responsibilities of caring for a person with dementia. The purpose of this study was to illuminate the meaning of being an informal caregiver for a person with dementia living at home and receiving day care services. Narrative interviews were conducted, and data were analyzed using the phenomenological hermeneutic method. Two main themes emerged: “Living with limitations in everyday life” and “Having a life besides being a caregiver”. The comprehensive understanding suggested living with a person with dementia, changes and influences the informal caregiver’s life through a set of new roles and a new way of living and thinking. The result is discussed in light of Goffman’s analysis of the structures of social encounters from the perspective of the dramatic performance.