ABSTRACT
This poster describes a study of Somali American family caregiving during the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically investing the unique caregiving challenges faced by Somali caregivers. The findings from this study, which was part of a larger study related to family caregiving, were drawn from in-depth interviews of ten Somali family caregivers in Minnesota. All interviews were conducted in Somali during the summer of 2020 and translated and transcribed by a certified translator and research assistant. The major themes that emerged from this study related to Visitation, Hospital Accompaniment, and Self Sacrifice. As Somali culture is centered around extended family connections, isolation places particular strain. Second, family members typically serve as advocates, translators and guides during hospital visits. The restrictions on hospital accompaniment due to COVID-19 caused increased stress and poorer care of family caregivers and their loved ones. Third, in the Somali community, family placement is a last resort. Caregivers reported great sacrifices in time, comfort and opportunities to care for family members during COVID-19. Most of the caregivers described their coping with these sacrifices in terms of radical acceptance and God consciousness. These findings have important implications for providing supports for Somali family caregivers.
ABSTRACT
This poster describes a study of Somali American family caregiving during the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically investing the unique caregiving challenges faced by Somali caregivers. The findings from this study, which was part of a larger study related to family caregiving, were drawn from in-depth interviews of ten Somali family caregivers in Minnesota. All interviews were conducted in Somali during the summer of 2020 and translated and transcribed by a certified translator and research assistant. The major themes that emerged from this study related to Visitation, Hospital Accompaniment, and Self Sacrifice. As Somali culture is centered around extended family connections, isolation places particular strain. Second, family members typically serve as advocates, translators and guides during hospital visits. The restrictions on hospital accompaniment due to COVID-19 caused increased stress and poorer care of family caregivers and their loved ones. Third, in the Somali community, family placement is a last resort. Caregivers reported great sacrifices in time, comfort and opportunities to care for family members during COVID-19. Most of the caregivers described their coping with these sacrifices in terms of radical acceptance and God consciousness. These findings have important implications for providing supports for Somali family caregivers.
ABSTRACT
The strict restrictions to reduce the spread of COVID-19 have disrupted the lives of many at-risk people and their family caregivers. This study explored how family caregivers perceived that family caregiving had changed during COVID-19 and the strategies they used to cope with these changes. We conducted 52 semi-structured interviews with family caregivers of adults over age 65 or adults with disabilities and analyzed the data through an inductive thematic analysis. Caregivers perceived the largest COVID-19-related caregiving changes to be limited social and physical contacts, changed caregiving tasks, reduced services and supports, and a new focus on vigilance and safety. Caregivers made numerous changes to caregiving, including keeping connected, keeping relatives occupied, getting support and services in new ways, and reducing caregiver stress.
ABSTRACT
COVID-19 has had an enormous impact on older people around the world. As family caregivers provide a good portion of the care for older people, their lives have been drastically altered by COVID-19 too. Our study is an in-depth exploration of the greatest concerns of family caregivers in the United States during COVID-19, as well as their perspectives on the benefits of caregiving during this global pandemic. We conducted in-depth interviews with a diverse sample of 52 family caregivers in the United States between May and September of 2020 over video conferencing using a semi-structured interview guide. Thematic analysis was conducted to ascertain our participants' perceptions. Caregiver's concerns were organized into six main themes, including social isolation, decline in mental health, decline in physical and cognitive functioning, keeping their family members safe from COVID-19, lack of caregiving support, and caregiving stress. The themes related to the benefits of caregiving during COVID-19 included: enjoyed the slower pace, increased time to spend together, deepened relationships, recognizing the resilience of family members, and caregiving innovations. Our in-depth study helps social workers understand the nature of caregiving stress during COVID-19, as well as the positive aspects of caregiving, even during a global pandemic.