Institution-Based Caregiving as a Container for Leisure

Abstract

Guided by symbolic interactionism and the conceptual framework of the caregiving career, I set out to examine the institution-based caregiving context as a potential container for leisure. Specifically, I was interested in the conditions necessary for caregivers to experience leisure in their caregiving roles and the differences between those caregivers who experience leisure in their roles and those who do not. The data for this study came from in-depth active interviews completed by 38 adult daughters caring for parents with a cognitive impairment in a long-term care facility in southern Ontario. Two substantive themes were identified as important to the potential for leisure moments in the institution-based caregiving context: sense of obligation to care and positive rewards in care. Family members who were more likely to define their caregiving as leisurelike described a perceived freedom in care rather than an obligation to care. They also described three rewards they received in their caregiving roles: sense of enjoyment in care, sense of connectedness to others in care, and sense of escape or separation in care. Leisure was much more likely to be experienced in the midphases of the institution-based caregiving career.