Communication Experiences of Family Caregivers of Hospitalized Adults With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
Location
1052
Format Type
Paper
Format Type
Paper
Start Date
12-1-2017 1:15 PM
End Date
12-1-2017 1:35 PM
Abstract
Marie L. Charles-Communication Experiences of Family Caregivers of Hospitalized Adults With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
I designed this applied dissertation to discover new insights regarding the lived experiences of family caregivers of hospitalized individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The peer-reviewed literature obtained via the Internet, using the Eric descriptors, resulted in very limited and outdated research on individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Several research studies indicated that research on the intellectual and developmentally disabled was not readily available and even less research was conducted on the family caregivers of this group.
I used the literature review to develop the following research questions pertaining to communication issues between Family caregivers and hospital personnel: 1) How did family caregivers of hospitalized patients with intellectual and developmental disabilities perceive their communication experiences with health-care personnel? 2) What communication issues did caregivers experience when advocating for patients with intellectual and developmental disabilities during hospitalization? 3) What did family caregivers of patients with intellectual and developmental disabilities recommend to improve communication with health-care personnel? The research method I selected was a hermeneutic phenomenological approach.
I used open-ended questions in face-to-face interviews and developed a number of potential probes. Selecting ten participants, I audiotape recorded the face-to-face interviews. Afterwards, I transcribed and coded the audiotape recordings. I then collapsed the codes to determine emerging broader themes. Throughout the study, I consulted the family caregivers to ensure the information revealed reflected their experiences.
I noted four themes emerged from the interviews: need for advocacy, need for better communication, sense of abandonment, and lack of confidence. The findings indicated the need for better education at the prelicensure level as well as continuing education and support for staff nurses to safely care for this population.
Communication Experiences of Family Caregivers of Hospitalized Adults With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
1052
Marie L. Charles-Communication Experiences of Family Caregivers of Hospitalized Adults With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
I designed this applied dissertation to discover new insights regarding the lived experiences of family caregivers of hospitalized individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The peer-reviewed literature obtained via the Internet, using the Eric descriptors, resulted in very limited and outdated research on individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Several research studies indicated that research on the intellectual and developmentally disabled was not readily available and even less research was conducted on the family caregivers of this group.
I used the literature review to develop the following research questions pertaining to communication issues between Family caregivers and hospital personnel: 1) How did family caregivers of hospitalized patients with intellectual and developmental disabilities perceive their communication experiences with health-care personnel? 2) What communication issues did caregivers experience when advocating for patients with intellectual and developmental disabilities during hospitalization? 3) What did family caregivers of patients with intellectual and developmental disabilities recommend to improve communication with health-care personnel? The research method I selected was a hermeneutic phenomenological approach.
I used open-ended questions in face-to-face interviews and developed a number of potential probes. Selecting ten participants, I audiotape recorded the face-to-face interviews. Afterwards, I transcribed and coded the audiotape recordings. I then collapsed the codes to determine emerging broader themes. Throughout the study, I consulted the family caregivers to ensure the information revealed reflected their experiences.
I noted four themes emerged from the interviews: need for advocacy, need for better communication, sense of abandonment, and lack of confidence. The findings indicated the need for better education at the prelicensure level as well as continuing education and support for staff nurses to safely care for this population.
Comments
This is the revised version