Caregiver/resident relationships: surrogate family bonds and surrogate grieving in a skilled nursing facility.
The study investigated the occurrence of surrogate family bonds and surrogate grieving by staff members (n = 25) at a rural skilled nursing facility. Staff members were educated on both concepts then given a structured interview to test for occurrence and identification with these concepts. Public opinion, as well as the literature, describes the caregiver/resident relationship as a historical, lacking close emotional bonds. However, staff members are often observed to report close emotional bonds and grieving over the death of residents. This study tested the hypotheses that self-reported caregiver surrogate family bonds and self-reported caregiver surrogate grieving would exist at a significantly higher rate than the literature would predict. Chi-square analysis supported the hypothesis for surrogate family bonds, chi 2 (1, n = 25) = 17.64, P < 0.001. Surrogate family bonds were found to occur in 92% of the present sample. However, surrogate grieving was not supported and was found to occur in only 52% of the sample.
Sumaya-Smith
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I
Department of Psychology, California State University, Bakersfield 93311-1099, USA.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001293:Attitude to Death; D017028:Caregivers; D004644:Emotions; D005190:Family; D005239:Fear; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006117:Grief; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009735:Nursing Homes; D009740:Nursing Staff; D009769:Object Attachment; D012424:Rural Population; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013727:Terminal Care