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301186
When Caregiving gets Pesado: Successful Coping Strategies Utilized by Mexican-Origin Women Caregivers
Monday, November 17, 2014
Katherine Anthony, MA
,
College of Public Health and Human Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR
Carolyn A. Mendez-Luck, PhD, MPH
,
College of Public Health and Human Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR
Coping strategies among caregivers have been known to affect their long-term health outcomes. However we know little about the linkage between Latina caregiver preference for coping strategies and cultural values. This qualitative study examined the cultural views of caregiving as pesado—a cultural construct of heaviness—among Latino caregivers and their preferred coping strategies when caregiving gets pesado. One-time semi-structured interviews were conducted with 44 Mexican-origin female caregivers living in the greater East Los Angeles area. Audio files were transcribed and analyzed in Atlas.ti and repeatedly examined for thematic content. Two main themes emerged from this analysis. First, Latina caregivers perceived caregiving as pesado (heavy) based on physical effort of activities, emotional strain, or a combination of both. Second, most caregivers used similar coping strategies when dealing with perceived negative aspects and heaviness of their caregiving role. Coping strategies included praying, faith in God, and spirituality. The relationship between perceptions of caregiving as pesado and coping strategies suggests the strong role of religion in cultural values of Mexican-origin caregivers. These findings support further research into the role of religion and faith based support for Mexican-origin caregivers to improve caregiver health.
Learning Areas:
Diversity and culture
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences
Learning Objectives:
Identify two situations of when caregiving is pesado
Describe one or more ways that Latina caregivers cope with the weight of being a caregiver.
Keyword(s): Caregivers, Immigrant Health
Presenting author's disclosure statement:Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been researching Mexican-origin caregiver health under the guidance of my major professor and analyzing qualitative data from the UCLA Regional Center on Minority Aging Research East Los Angeles Caregiver Interviews. My research goals are to better understand resilience and aging among ethnic minorities with the ultimate goal of creating health behavior interventions that are culturally relevant and build upon supports existing within elders’ communities.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines,
and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed
in my presentation.
