Program
Nurse Educator M.S.
Year Approved
2017
First Advisor
Meyer, Kimberley
Abstract
Title: What are the most compelling ways that faith community nurses support family caregivers? Background: The need for family caregivers will rise exponentially in the United States in the coming decades as older adults live longer lives and often with two or more chronic illnesses. Faith community nurses are uniquely positioned through their trusted presence in faith community settings to provide this support to family caregivers. Purpose: Family caregivers provide vital care to senior adults that our healthcare systems cannot absorb. Faith community nurses (FCNs) support family caregivers connected to their faith communities in tangible ways to strengthen the growing phenomenon of family caregiving in our country. Review of the literature identifies the supportive roles of the faith community nurse in enhancing the quality of life for family caregivers and care recipients throughout their caregiving journey. Theoretical Framework: Pearlin’s (1995) intervention strategies across the caregiving career offers the following roles: Role acquisition, role enactment and role disengagement. FCNs offer impactful interventions in each caregiving role to support the family caregiver. Results: Sixteen articles identified for review were analyzed from both nursing literature and literature from related disciplines. Conclusions: The literature identifies general themes including presence, practical help via education, health system navigation, and support throughout the caregiving journey. Faith community nurses build deep and trusting relationships with caregiving families in their faith communities and as such are able to leverage more positive, impactful, and lasting outcomes. Implications for Research and Practice: Small sample sizes offered positive outcomes demonstrating the need for additional research with larger and more diverse samples to strengthen findings.The emerging role for FCNs in transitional care will grow as caregiving family’s move from acute to transitional and home care settings. The FCN can facilitate these transitions to improve outcomes for family caregivers and care recipients.
Degree Name
M.S. Nurse Educator
Document Type
Masterʼs thesis
Recommended Citation
Anderson, L. R. (2017). Faith Community Nurses' Impact on Family Caregivers [Masterʼs thesis, Bethel University]. Spark Repository. https://spark.bethel.edu/etd/27
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