Caregiving of African-American Daughters: Applying Neuman's Systems Model

Women, primarily adult daughters, provide most of the caregiving (Family Caregiving Alliance, 2004). African-American caregivers are more likely than other groups to report serious health care problems in their care recipients, which add to the demands of their responsibilities (Schreiber, 2002). In addition, a higher proportion of African-American caregivers reported having suffered physical and mental problems because of caregiving (U.S. Administration on Aging, 2004). Therefore, it is imperative to study caregiving of African-American daughters. The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the caregiving experiences of African-American daughters who have functioned as caregivers. The Neuman Systems Model was utilized as the framework for this study (Neuman, 1989; Neuman & Fawcett, 2002), and focus group data revealed caregiving had spiritual, cultural, and individual meanings. African-American daughters viewed caregiving as an act of kindness, love, and devotion; however, they were stressed and felt tense in their role as caregivers because of the increased demands that had been placed on them. Caregiving was also viewed as a familial responsibility. Focus group data indicated that religion was instrumental in assisting African-Americans to cope with caregiving because emotional strain was often relieved through prayer, reading scripture, and performing other actions that showed their faith. The overload data from the survey confirmed that African-American daughters were tired and overwhelmed by the caregiving experience. However, they possessed strength, self-confidence, and caregiving mastery. This study concluded that religion gave most participants a strong tolerance for the caregiving situation and served to mediate the caregiving strain.