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Portraits Of Caregivers Of End-Stage Dementia Patients Receiving Hospice Care, S. Sanders, Howard Butcher, P. Swails, J. Power
Portraits Of Caregivers Of End-Stage Dementia Patients Receiving Hospice Care, S. Sanders, Howard Butcher, P. Swails, J. Power
Howard K. Butcher
The purpose of this study was to investigate how caregivers respond to the end stages of dementia with the assistance from hospice. Data were collected from 27 family caregivers over the course of 10 months, with each caregiver being interviewed up to 4 times during the time that the patient received hospice care. Chart review data were also collected. Four distinct caregiver portraits emerged: (a) disengaged; (b) questioning; (c) all-consumed; and (d) reconciled. Caregivers in each portrait differed in how they responded to the impending death of the care recipient, the disease progression, and hospice care. Recognizing the differences in …
Living In The Doldrums: The Lived Experience Of Dispiritedness In Later Life, Howard Butcher, M. Mcgonigal-Kenney
Living In The Doldrums: The Lived Experience Of Dispiritedness In Later Life, Howard Butcher, M. Mcgonigal-Kenney
Howard K. Butcher
This phenomenological investigation sought to enhance understanding of the experience of dispiritedness by providing a rich and vivid description of the essential structure of the experience in later life. van Manen's hermeneutic-phenomenological method was used to analyze the transcribed texts of 11 individuals who identified themselves as being in "later life" (mean age = 73, age range = 52 to 93) and who participated in phenomenological interviews focusing on describing the experience of dispiritedness. Statements describing the experience of dispiritedness were sorted into 21 thematic categories that were synthesized into 7 essential themes that described the structure of the lived …