2022 Volume 30 Issue 4 Pages 510-516
The purpose of this study was to explore the experience of family caregivers who care for their parents and establish a full-time parental care life after leaving their jobs. We interviewed five people who had left their jobs to care for their parents, and we analyzed the results using the qualitative synthesis method (KJ method). We extracted six categories from the data analysis.
The participants experienced “a severe lack of time due to work and care.” Moreover, “it was impossible for them to imagine balancing care and work.” Choosing to leave their jobs to care for their parents was an experience in which they had to focus on “looking ahead and deciding what they valued most.” Participants first reported experiencing “the responsibility of their parents’ life and the burden of long-term care,” which then changed to “experiencing joy in their connection with their parents and fellow caregivers.” However, some participants “felt empty, as though they had been left behind by society.”
For family caregivers, parental care provided an opportunity to re-question their own way of life. For younger caregivers, support is needed to avoid feelings of isolation.
