2009/11/25 by Eun-Hi Kong, Janet A. Deatrick, Lois K. Evans
paper · doi:10.1177/1049732309354279
The purpose of this article is to describe Korean immigrant caregivers’ experiences regarding American nursing home placement of their non-English-speaking older relatives with dementia. Qualitative descriptive methods and qualitative content analysis were used. A total of 17 semistructured interviews were conducted with 10 Korean immigrant family caregivers. The “Korean way of thinking” emerged as a fundamental cultural belief about caregiving. Six major themes were identified: (a) I never thought about a nursing home; (b) If I think in a Korean way, I feel . . . ; (c) Nursing home staff cannot communicate with . . . ; (d) My care recipient maintains Korean culture; (e) Nursing home services are better than expected but . . . ; and (f) My care recipient is more vulnerable because of dementia. This study provides valuable insights for health care providers about communication and cultural issues of immigrant caregivers for non-English-speaking older relatives with dementia.