Understanding the caregiving experiences of Asian Indian, Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese American family care partners of persons living with dementia

Abstract

Objectives Disparities impacting dementia health care exist in racial/ethnic minority groups, including Asian Americans, an understudied population in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. The qualitative study explored caregiving experiences and potential cultural influences among Asian Indian, Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese family care partners of persons living with dementia. Methods We conducted focus groups and individual interviews with 32 care partners from these four Asian subgroups using Zoom, WeChat, or telephone. Results Four themes emerged from the data: (1) Family obligations influencing caregiving decisions; (2) Evolving challenges related to dementia caregiving; (3) Caregiving burdens/negative impacts from caregiving (relationship burdens and emotional distress); and (4) Coping with their situation in their own ways (cognitive, behavioral, and social strategies).Conclusion: Cultural values (e.g. familism or filial piety) played a significant role in caregiving decisions and experiences. There was a need to raise public awareness of dementia and create culturally and linguistically appropriate training programs for this population.