A QUALITATIVE RESEARCH ON ALZHEIMER PATIENTS’ CARE PROCESS: NURSES’ COPING WITH STRESS

Abstract

Nine relatives of Alzheimer’s patients, one male and eight female, participated in this study, whinch aims to examine the sources of stress experienced during the care process and to reyeal the ways of coping with the problems they experience during the care process. The study group was determined using the typical sampling technique, which is one of the purposeful sampling methods. In the interviews, besides their personal information, demographic questions were asked to determine the characteristics of the patients, and then the problem-solving tendencies of the patients' relatives regarding the care process, their views on external support and obstacles in the care process, and the effects of caring for the Alzheimer's patient on their physical, emotional and social lives were examined. As a result of the meeting, it is seen that the views about care for Alzheimer's patients cluster around four themes. The first theme of the study is about the problem-solving tendencies of the relatives of the patients and includes the categories of sharing or solving problems on their own, reactions to difficult events, and actions taken when feeling unwell. The second theme is about external support and obstacles in the care process and includes the difficulties of the care process, environmental support, care interest, social institution support, feedback and responses. The third theme of the study is about the physical and emotional effects of care on the participants and includes sleep patterns and mood categories. The final theme focuses on the impact of patient care on the social lives of the participants and includes the categories of social relationships, self-time, and friendships. When all results are evaluated together, it is seen that Alzheimer's disease has a progressive aspect and some patients have reached an advanced level of basic disease indicators in a short time. In addition, it is seen that some of them have reached an advanced level in a slow course with the contribution of treatment and care services they receive. Caregiving relatives of patients think that they have to organize their own lives according to the patient, from sleeping patterns to personal care, from regulating their emotional and physical structures to controlling their social lives, and this situation sometimes causes a decrease in their quality of life. It is considered that this study will contribute to the relevant literature in the context of its results.