Maintaining Caregiving at Home: A Culturally Sensitive Grounded Theory of Providing Care in Thailand

Grounded theory methodology was used to generate a substantive theory that describes and explains the caregiving process of Thai caregivers for their elderly stroke relatives. Data were collected from a purposive sample of 20 family caregivers living in Chachoengsao province, Thailand, by using interviews, observations, and the primary researcher’s memos. The central idea emerging from the data was maintaining caregiving at home that encompassed these seven contextual situations: (a) caregiving as an integral part of life; (b) caregiving as an unavoidable task; (c) caregiving with love, sympathy, and attachment; (d) family and kinship support; (e) community support; (f) managing treatment; and (g) managing problems and difficulties. Culture, tradition, and religion dominated throughout these situations. Application of the theory is discussed relative to providing culturally sensitive nursing education, intervention, and research.