Psychological Caregiver Research Articles

The Phenomenology of Psychological Caregiving in Nursing

In the context of holistic nursing care, psychological care for physically ill people is a central element. Yet nurses often find it difficult to elucidate the precise meaning of the concept. Evidence from the literature confirms that, although there is some consensus, there is a general lack of clarity regarding the nature and experience of providing psychological care. This phenomenological study aimed to illuminate both the nature of the concept and the experience for nurses in caring for their patients’ psychological needs. It culminates in a phenomenological description of psychological care that may provide a platform for future research.

Psychological Distress in Caregivers of Liver and Lung Transplant Candidates

Although organ transplantation represents a stressful experience for the entire family, surprisingly little research has focused on the adjustment of caregivers. The purpose of this study was to examine what caregivers report to be the greatest benefits and stressors pretransplant, the prevalence of psychological distress and caregiver strain in pretransplant caregivers as compared to normative populations, and the physical, psychological, and demographic variables that predict distress. Fifty-two caregivers of transplant candidates (28 liver and 24 lung) completed a series of questionnaires, including the Psychosocial Adjustment to Illness Scale (PAIS-SR), SF-36 Health Survey, Caregiver Strain Index (CSI), and qualitative questions about benefits and stressors. The most commonly reported benefit of being a caregiver could be categorized as Helping the Patient, and the most common stressors were associated with Uncertainty/Waiting/Fears. Compared to normative samples of caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease, caregivers of liver transplant candidates reported more caregiver strain; there were no differences for lung transplant caregivers. Caregiver social functioning was found to be the only significant predictor of caregiver distress, with those caregivers who report greater distress also reporting extreme and frequent interference with normal social activities. Implications of these findings for psychological interventions are discussed.

The use of narrative in the study of caring: A critique

Within nursing and the allied professions there is an extensive and growing literature that aims to uncover the meaning of caring and its application in practice. Review of the literature reveals a wide range of data collection and analysis methods, including measurement and multivariate analysis, concept analysis, content analysis, Q-sort methodology, the repertory grid technique, case study, ethnographic and phenomenological approaches. It is argued that while all approaches make a valid contribution, appropriate methods for nurses of obtaining rich data about the meaning and practice of caring are those which permit the researcher to enter the world of the nurse and explore perceptions as expressed through stories. Reference is made within this paper to the use of narrative in an ongoing research study which explores nurses' perceptions and experiences of psychological care-giving and the ways in which these develop throughout nurse education programmes. However, the main purpose of this paper is to present arguments for and against the use of the narrative method, concluding with a brief discussion of methodological choice applied to the study of caring.

Physiotherapists' and male professional athletes' views on psychological skills for rehabilitation

In the literature on the psychological aspects of rehabilitation from athletic injury, several studies in North America have focused on athletic trainers' roles as physical and psychological caregivers for injured athletes. Wiese, Weiss, and Yukelson (1991) examined the views of athletic trainers on the psychological characteristics that distinguished athletes who coped well, versus those who coped poorly with rehabilitation, and also sought athletic trainers opinions on the role of psychological skills in injury rehabilitation. This study replicated the Wiese et al. (1991) study with Australian physiotherapists and extended it to include the viewpoints of professional basketball players. The results indicated the importance attached to communication and motivation by both physiotherapists and athletes in the rehabilitation process. Both athletes and physiotherapists did not, however, think psychological skills such as relaxation or imagery techniques to be particularly useful tools in the recovery process.

Novice and expert perceptions of psychological care and the development of psychological caregiving abilities

Despite the wealth of research pointing to the centrality of psychological care in illness, there appears to be a lack of consensus concerning its nature and the means by which psychological caregiving abilities are acquired. This has an impact on nurse educators, who must identify and harness the perceptions which students hold, and identify the processes which might contribute to their skill development, as they progress from ‘novice’ to ‘expert’.The aims of this small qualitative study were to compare novice and expert perceptions of the nature of psychological care, and to identify those processes that may contribute to nurses’ ability to apply psychological understanding in practice.Data collection methods comprised interactive interviews with qualified and novice student nurses, which were analysed thematically using an adaptation of Colaizzi’s (1978) reductive procedure. Results suggest that, whilst there is considerable overlap in themes identified between the two groups, novices consider a broader range of themes to be central to psychological caregiving than do experts; similarly, novices identify more contributory factors than do experts in explaining the process of acquiring skill in psychological caregiving. Possible reasons for these differences are considered.Whilst this study is limited in size and scope, the ultimate goal is to utilize central themes within a model of psychological caregiving, which might inform nurse education. In this way, educational programmes might be appropriately focused upon students’ needs within the context of real clinical experience.

Caregiver distress: what nurses in rural settings can do to help.

Caregivers in rural settings experience unmet needs. Some family caregivers in rural areas, either willingly or grudgingly, take on the role of caregiving as one of many responsibilities. A review of the literature reveals that the burden of the added responsibility results in physiological and psychological caregiver distress. The authors suggest some strategies to meet caregiver needs and outline areas where research is needed.

An Integrated System for the Assessment and Treatment of Psychological, Social, and Spiritual Distress

More and more health care is dictated by specific standards of practice and detailed clinical pathways. Increasingly, options for care not specified in those pathways are not used. Pastoral care is among the options included in the treatment pathways. When included, there is usually no more than a mention that psychological, social, or spiritual care will be offered—without a specific plan. In light of that, this article presents a newly developed, integrated system for rapidly assessing distress in outpatients with cancer, triaging them to the proper psychological, social, or spiritual caregiver, and then treating the distress along predetermined pathways. The pastoral care pathways are presented in detail.