TY - JOUR
T1 - “Am I entitled to take a break in caregiving?”
T2 - Perceptions of leisure activities of family caregivers of loved ones with dementia in China
AU - Xu, Xin Yi
AU - Leung, Doris
AU - Leung, Angela Yee Man
AU - Kwan, Rick Yiu Cho
AU - Liang, Ting Na
AU - Chai, Ai Jun
N1 - Funding Information:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This project was funded by Postdoctoral Research Funding of Hebei Medical University and Research Student Associate Money from Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2022.
PY - 2022/7
Y1 - 2022/7
N2 - Leisure activities are essential for family caregivers of loved ones with dementia living in the community, yet these caregivers tend not to engage in them, especially in China, wherein it may have a negative impact on their physical and psychological health. To date, limited knowledge exists regarding underlying reasons that deter these family caregivers from doing leisure activities. This study aims to explore perceptions of family caregivers of people living with dementia and their engagement in leisure activities. A qualitative descriptive research design was used with semi-structured, face-to-face, individual in-depth interviews. The data were collected in Shijiazhuang, China between October and November 2019. Content analysis was used to develop categories. Results of 20 family caregivers (5 men and 15 women, mean age = 55.6±12.7) reported their perceptions under four main categories: (i) “the condition of leisure life,” (ii) “needs for leisure activities,” (iii) “reasons for the reluctance to do leisure activities,” and (iv) “motivations supporting the implementation of leisure activities.” In addition to the heavy caregiving workload and lack of support, traditional Chinese beliefs including filial commitment and “fatalistic voluntarism” were the reasons that prevented Chinese family caregivers of people living with dementia from doing leisure activities. However, engaging their loved ones in leisure activities, like doing exercise together, could motivate family caregivers themselves to participate in leisure activities. These findings encourage healthcare professionals to consider the influence of culture on family caregivers’ engagement in leisure activities which is one of the ways to reduce stress. Family caregivers may benefit from the leisure activities by learning how to better cope with and balance caregiving tasks with their leisure pursuits in the community.
AB - Leisure activities are essential for family caregivers of loved ones with dementia living in the community, yet these caregivers tend not to engage in them, especially in China, wherein it may have a negative impact on their physical and psychological health. To date, limited knowledge exists regarding underlying reasons that deter these family caregivers from doing leisure activities. This study aims to explore perceptions of family caregivers of people living with dementia and their engagement in leisure activities. A qualitative descriptive research design was used with semi-structured, face-to-face, individual in-depth interviews. The data were collected in Shijiazhuang, China between October and November 2019. Content analysis was used to develop categories. Results of 20 family caregivers (5 men and 15 women, mean age = 55.6±12.7) reported their perceptions under four main categories: (i) “the condition of leisure life,” (ii) “needs for leisure activities,” (iii) “reasons for the reluctance to do leisure activities,” and (iv) “motivations supporting the implementation of leisure activities.” In addition to the heavy caregiving workload and lack of support, traditional Chinese beliefs including filial commitment and “fatalistic voluntarism” were the reasons that prevented Chinese family caregivers of people living with dementia from doing leisure activities. However, engaging their loved ones in leisure activities, like doing exercise together, could motivate family caregivers themselves to participate in leisure activities. These findings encourage healthcare professionals to consider the influence of culture on family caregivers’ engagement in leisure activities which is one of the ways to reduce stress. Family caregivers may benefit from the leisure activities by learning how to better cope with and balance caregiving tasks with their leisure pursuits in the community.
KW - dementia
KW - family caregiver
KW - leisure activity
KW - perception
KW - qualitative study
KW - well-being
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85130037416&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/14713012221093879
DO - 10.1177/14713012221093879
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 35481765
AN - SCOPUS:85130037416
SN - 1471-3012
VL - 21
SP - 1682
EP - 1698
JO - Dementia
JF - Dementia
IS - 5
ER -