The Caregiving Burden on the Caregivers of Aged Loved Ones: Qualitative Interviews of Female Caregivers With Male Siblings

Significant research has been done over many decades into the identification of caregiving, who provides care and who does not, and the gender gap that exists between men and women in terms of the caregiver’s burden. To answer the call for more qualitative research into specific areas of gender disparity with regards to the assumption of caregiving in filial relationships, this study set out to collect qualitative interview information from women caregivers who have provided primary caregiving duties for one or more aged loved ones, and were selected or thrust into the role despite having an equally capable male sibling. Interview data focused on collecting the experiences of the caregivers with regards to hours spent providing care, the psychic and emotional toll of caregiving, and their level of satisfaction with the help provided by male and female siblings. Thematic analysis of the data determined that 1) the psychic toll of the work outpaced physical hours spent providing care, 2) women expressed satisfaction with the aid provided by female relatives, 3) women expressed partial satisfaction with the aid provided by male relatives (including male partners), and 4) women expressed distrust of their male siblings’ ability to provide care. This suggests that there is great potential for further research into the gendered disparity of caregiving