“Swinging Pendulum”: Lives of Family Members Caring for A Dying Relative

Among cultures which place emphasis on the centrality of family in ones lives, the care for the dying patient is more often than not delegated on family members. Given this context, it is interesting to note that few research have been done on the experiences of these individuals who provide care to their dying relatives. This research aims to understand the lives of these informal carers as they provide care to their dying relatives. After securing clearance from an IRB, seven (5) informants, deemed as coresearchers, were recruited and agreed to participate in this study. The co-researchers where selected based on a pre-set criteria and the number were reached based on theoretical saturation. Multiple individual in-depth face-to-face interviews were done to create the individual narratives which was later reflectively analysed. Interpretive phenomenology as espoused by van Manen served as the philosophical underpinning of the study. Consequently, the proposed analytic technique of van Manen was utilized as the process of reflective analysis. After the process of reflective analysis, three (3) themes were gathered, namely: Ambivalence in anticipation, Courage in uncertainty, Meaning in suffering. These themes represent for the co-researchers their lives as they care for their dying relatives. Further, these themes reflects for the co-researchers a phenomenon of living moment-to-moment, unsure of what tomorrow will bring, patiently waiting for their relative to cross over. For them, there seems to be a constant struggle of finding a reason for being and a sense of what has happened, what is happening and what could happen to their dying relative and their family after their death. This essence can be symbolically represented by a swinging pendulum, constantly in motion trying to situate ambivalence in their anticipation, looking for courage amidst uncertainty and finding formeaning in their experience of suffering. The insights suggest that there is a need for constant dialogue among family members and health care providers as they assumed the role of primary caregivers. Further continued emotional, moral and spiritual support is implied during this transition as well as follow-ups when the families are at the home setting.