A Heideggerian hermeneutic study : the lived experiences of the Chinese family caregivers of relatives with severe and persistent mental illness in Malaysia

Chang, KH

Abstract

An increasing number of families are being invariably forced to take on the role
of a caregiver to their relative with severe and persistent mental illness following
the development of community psychiatry and a movement to deinstitutionalize
mental health care, both in the developed and developing countries. The lived
experiences of these family caregivers have attracted the attentions of a
remarkable number of researchers in nursing, and other health and social care
disciplines. However, a review of the literature has uncovered that the findings
of their research studies generally are far from conclusive due to a variety of
serious epistemological and methodological flaws. Furthermore, a large number
of these studies are situated in the quantitative paradigm, and therefore are
heavily influenced by scientism, which strongly advocates quantification, and the
use of mathematics for the exploration of the phenomenon under study. The
quantitative paradigm is antithesis to the study of the lived experiences of the
family caregivers. The contention is that human experiences cannot be studied
holistically and meaningfully with the detached observer approach that could
only yield answers that are expressed in numbers and percentages rather than
capturing the thick and rich human experiences in a vivid and poignant manner.
Lastly, a large majority of these research studies are conducted in the western
cultures, and therefore may not be applicable to the family caregivers in oriental
cultures. Therefore, this Heideggerian hermeneutic study is undertaken with the
aim of describing and constructing a possible interpretation of the day-to-day
lived experiences of the Chinese family caregivers of relatives with severe and
persistent mental illness in Malaysia. The seminal work of Martin Heidegger
(1889-1976), Being and Time, Division I, underpin the philosophical framework
of this study. Shared conversations, which center on the day-to-day lived
experiences of the 19 Chinese family caregivers of relatives with severe and
persistent mental illness in Malaysia that meet the study criteria were conducted.
Eight major themes that reflect the meaning of the day-to-day lived experiences
of the Chinese family caregivers emerged from the collected study data, which
were thematically analyzed. The major themes include: Being thrown into the
trajectories of family caregiving; Answering to the call of conscience; Managing
the day-to-day care; Enduring the caregiving process; Surviving the caregiving
process; Chronic sorrow and grief; Constant worries and fears; and Making
sense of the caregiving experiences. The emergent themes were individually
described and discussed in great depth from the Heideggerian perspective. The
study highlights a number of critical issues and the thesis discusses these in
depth.

Citation

Chang, K. A Heideggerian hermeneutic study : the lived experiences of the Chinese family caregivers of relatives with severe and persistent mental illness in Malaysia. (Thesis). Salford : University of Salford

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Oct 3, 2012
• Award Date: Jan 1, 2004