Integrating Multiple Roles: The Social Context of Spousal Cancer Caregiving

Cancer family caregiving is a growing issue in the US. Several widely used conceptual models focused on the cancer caregiving experience highlight the importance of context as a mechanism for how the care experience impacts caregiver and patient outcomes. However, fewer studies explore how the existing social context, including pre-existing roles and prior experiences with care, can impact conceptualisation of a current caregiving role. PURPOSE: Our goal was to identify how spouse caregivers frame their caregiving role and experience within their existing roles and social contexts. METHODS: We performed a secondary qualitative analysis using a hybrid approach of deductive and inductive coding to identify themes in interviews from spouses of patients with advanced cancer. RESULTS: Interviews from 30 heterosexual spousal caregivers were analysed. Most caregivers were White (87%) and female (83%), with a mean age of 66.63 (SD = 10.29) years. Caregiving experiences were contextualised within the following themes: caregiving role within a spousal role, formative experiences and social interactions and influence. CONCLUSIONS: Caregivers' various roles, including that of spouse, and prior experiences and interactions helped them to make sense of their caregiving role, create meaning and help shape expectations. Our analysis works towards a more nuanced, complex integration of caregiving history and its role in a broader social context. Future work should continue to explore specific contextual aspects of caregiving; a broader ecological model of caregiving could be useful in theory and practice.