Paliatívna medicína a liečba bolesti 1-2e/2021

Secondary caregivers‘ experience of loss: The perspective of granddaughters whose grandmothers died from dementia

Dementia is a disease that interferes with the life of the diagnosed person and affects a whole range of people, such as primary and secondary caregivers. Secondary caregivers provide care for people with dementia and unburden primary caregivers. However, secondary caregivers have received relatively little research attention. The aim of the study was to ascertain secondary caregivers‘ subjective experience of loss related to dementia. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five health professionals who had cared for grandmothers with dementia. Through interpretative phenomenological analysis, we conceived three main themes: 1) Changing relationship with grandmother, 2) Caregiving as a moral obligation, and 3) Dementia and death.

Keywords: secondary caregivers, dementia, loss, grandmother