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"Doing the distance": The experience and meaning of long-distance caretaking
Abstract
The need for caregiving in the home has increased because people are being discharged from hospitals while they are still sick. Sometimes individuals in need of care have to rely on a relative who lives at a distance. The scholarly literature concentrates on caregivers who live with or in proximity to the care recipient; however, the caretaker who lives a distance away from the care recipient has received little attention. The purpose of this study was to explore long-distance caretaking, and to gain understanding of the ramifications of that caretaking. The study utilized life history research methodology to give voice to the stories of three distance caretakers. Long interviews were conducted with women who had cared for their widowed mothers who lived at least 3 hours away. The care recipients lived alone in their homes located in small rural towns or, in one case, a suburb of another large city. The care recipients died in their homes while being cared for by their daughters who were their long-distance caretakers. This study identified five important thematic areas which represent the phenomenon of "doing the distance." They are based on an interpretive cross-case analysis. The themes include the areas of adjustment, family and mother-daughter relationships, separation, and finally, what was learned through the experience. This study provides new knowledge of distant caretaking and has possible implications for education, policy, and research. Implications for nursing curricula and community continuing education are based on concepts of incidental, expressive, and instrumental forms of learning. The policy implications relate to providing care, to gender, and to employment. Research implications center on gathering stories from caretakers with different work flexibility, educational levels, and financial capability. There is a need for research on distance caretakers with different cultural and ethnic backgrounds, and a need to study males who are distant caretakers. Finally, investigation is needed on the issues of separation and loss as they are related to the mother-daughter filial connection and family dynamics.
Subject Area
Vocational education|Womens studies|Nursing
Recommended Citation
Herman, Charlotte Marie, ""Doing the distance": The experience and meaning of long-distance caretaking" (1994). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI9513715.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI9513715