Research: The Wife Caregiver of the Prostate Cancer Patient at Home

July, 2014

I am pleased to share the Abstract of the doctoral dissertation of Mary Beth O'Brien, Ph.D., who recently completed research regarding the wife caregiver to the prostate cancer patient.

Abstract

Wife Caregiver Experiences in the Prostate Cancer Patient at Home

by

Mary Elizabeth O’Brien

MSN, Catholic University, 1982

BSN, Alderson-Broaddus College, 1974

Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree of

Doctor of Philosophy

Health Services

Walden University

August 2014

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the experiences of wife caregivers of patients diagnosed with prostate cancer cared for in the home rather than in a medical facility. The focus was on understanding their experiences using Lawton’s Appraisal of Caregiving Scale interview schedule and one open-ended question. Guided by systems theory and stress theory, this study examined the caregiving demands, whether these demands reduced the quality of life for the wives, and whether caregivers have sufficient information to care for their husbands at home. Twenty wife caregivers were asked to describe their specific personal experiences. The data sources analyzed were the demographic matrix, the interview schedule using the Likert scale, and the one open-ended question. Findings revealed that the wife caregivers and their husbands with older age, more education, or more years of marriage were less burdened by the demands of caregiving, and this responsibility did not appear to affect their quality of life. However, the wives acknowledged needing more information to provide adequate care for the husbands when at home. The implications for social change for health care professionals in understanding the wives’ caregiving experiences might reveal a new dimension in caregiving and contribute to the social change dynamic of care for both the prostate cancer patient and his caregiver.