TY - JOUR
T1 - The “Reckoning Point” as a Marker for Formal Palliative and End-of-Life Care in Mexican American Families
AU - Evans, Bronwynne
AU - Coon, David
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016, © The Author(s) 2016.
PY - 2016/11/1
Y1 - 2016/11/1
N2 - Palliative and end-of-life care (PEOLC) in Mexican American (MA) caregiving families remains unexplored. Its onset was uncovered in our mixed methods, multisite, interdisciplinary, qualitative descriptive study of 116 caregivers, most of whom had provided long-term informal home care for chronically ill, disabled older family members. This subanalysis used Life Course Perspective to examine the “point of reckoning” in these families, where an older person is taken in for care, or care escalates until one recognizes oneself as the primary caregiver. Ninety-three of 116 caregivers recognized and spontaneously reported a “reckoning point” that initiated the caregiving trajectory, while eight cited “gradual decline” into caregiving for elders in their homes. This “reckoning point,” which marks the assumption of this role, may afford a fertile opportunity for referral to community resources or initiation of formal PEOLC, thereby improving the quality of life for these older individuals and their families.
AB - Palliative and end-of-life care (PEOLC) in Mexican American (MA) caregiving families remains unexplored. Its onset was uncovered in our mixed methods, multisite, interdisciplinary, qualitative descriptive study of 116 caregivers, most of whom had provided long-term informal home care for chronically ill, disabled older family members. This subanalysis used Life Course Perspective to examine the “point of reckoning” in these families, where an older person is taken in for care, or care escalates until one recognizes oneself as the primary caregiver. Ninety-three of 116 caregivers recognized and spontaneously reported a “reckoning point” that initiated the caregiving trajectory, while eight cited “gradual decline” into caregiving for elders in their homes. This “reckoning point,” which marks the assumption of this role, may afford a fertile opportunity for referral to community resources or initiation of formal PEOLC, thereby improving the quality of life for these older individuals and their families.
KW - Mexican American
KW - family caregivers
KW - palliative and end of life care
KW - reckoning point
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85001949348&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85001949348&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/1074840716677994
DO - 10.1177/1074840716677994
M3 - Article
C2 - 27903942
AN - SCOPUS:85001949348
SN - 1074-8407
VL - 22
SP - 606
EP - 630
JO - Journal of Family Nursing
JF - Journal of Family Nursing
IS - 4
ER -