Caregiving Experience of Dementia among Korean American Family Caregivers

Abstract

Dementia is a major public health problem affecting 5.5 million people in USA. This qualitative study explored the caregiving experience of Korean American (KA) families of persons with dementia (PWD). Adult KA caregivers of PWD (n = 18) were recruited for semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis yielded four themes: challenges in finding resources, struggling with mental health issues, traveling the path of acceptance, and finding ways to survive. Due to the language barrier, most KA caregivers reported using Korean Internet for information on dementia and caregiving. Some traveled to South Korea seeking medical assistance for dementia (medical tourism). Importantly, some KA caregivers expressed suicidal thoughts and depression. Unexpectedly, familism prevented help seeking and possible relief from their difficulties. There is an urgent need to improve access to dementia care services and education for the KA community. Building a trusting relationship with healthcare providers is even more important for KA caregivers to address their mental health concerns.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This research project was supported by two funding sources including (1) Arthur N. Rupe Foundation and (2) the National Center for Research Resources and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health (NIH), through Grant UL1 TR0001414.The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.