Western Health

• Main Authors: Trudy Read, Judith Wuest
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: daughters; parent care; grounded theory; relinquishing; Canada; Newfoundland
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.612.9972; http://www.brown.uk.com/teaching/qualitativepostgrad/read.pdf

Caring for elderly, dying parents is challenging for daughters as they try to balance other obligations and responsibilities. The purpose of this grounded theory study was to explain the domain of daughters ’ caregiving experiences in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The primary author interviewed 12 women whose parents had died. Three types of turmoil (emotional, relational, and societal) emerged as the central issue for these women. The authors discovered a substantive theory of Relinquishing with interdependent processes of Keeping Vigil, Navigating Systems, Facing Loss, and an end process of Coming to Terms. In moving through the process of Relinquishing, social conditions of personal ideals, family expectations, and societal demands determine strategies employed by any one daughter to manage her tur-moil. The findings fill a gap in knowledge related to daughters ’ caregiving for dying parents by contributing a theoretical framework that will inform women, health care providers, researchers, and health policy makers.