Caregiving through the eyes of Hispanic caregivers

Abstract

<p><strong>Purpose:</strong> To offer a culturally informed conceptual orientation of caregiving as an example of a research product that reflects methodologies that have taken into consideration differences in the meaning of concepts across cultures and the challenge of using translated instruments.</p> <p><strong>Methods:</strong> Mixed methods incorporating semi-structured bilingual interviews and the administration of the Screen for Caregiver Burden caregivers of relatives living with Alzheimer's disease were randomly assigned to 4 different groups with different sequences for interviews and administration of the SCB.</p> <p><strong>Results:</strong> Discrepancies in the meaning of concepts and differences in subjective burden scores according to the language in which the questions were asked reinforced previous findings that the concept of burden lacked equivalent meaning in Spanish. The use of the English and Spanish versions of the SCB in a group of bilingual caregivers has pointed out differences in the amount of subjective burden reported by the caregivers. In addition, the use of code-switching during bilingual caregiver interviews showed that caregivers distanced themselves emotionally from a situation or a question by using their second language.</p> <p><strong>Conclusion:</strong> The incorporation of language and culture as moderators of the perception of the overall caregiving experience, and the addition of concepts such as caregiver duty fulfillment and caregiver satisfaction, are offered as an exemplar of research conducted taking into consideration differences in conceptual meaning, translated instruments, and translation methodologies.</p>