Abstract
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 spousal caregivers to people with a traumatic spinal cord injury and were subjected to interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Here, we present two inter-related master themes: (1) coping with the spousal caregiver role; and (2) putting the pieces back together again. Within these, the analysis describes how regular venting of emotion, social support and focusing on the positive aspects of the situation all promoted coping. Adjustment was reportedly hindered by the introduction of paid caregivers as this represented a loss of privacy and power for the participants. The findings are discussed in relation to the wider literature and recommendations for future caregiver support are highlighted.
| Original language | English |
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| Pages (from-to) | 247-257 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | Journal of Health Psychology |
| Volume | 17 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Mar 2012 |
Funding
This research was funded by an ESRC grant (no: RES-000-22-2083). Both Grainne O’Brien and Richard Ward were employed as Research Assistants for the School of Health & Social Sciences at Edinburgh Napier University and the Department of Psychology, University of Stirling at the time of the research project. The authors express their gratitude to all of the research participants, the QENSIUS and Andy McLeod for their time and co-operation.
Keywords
- adjustment
- coping
- IPA
- partner caregiver
- spinal cord injury