Exploring the daily geographies of diverse men caregiving for family members with multiple chronic conditions. Issue 11 (1st November 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Giesbrecht, Melissa; Williams, Allison; Duggleby, Wendy; Ploeg, Jenny; Markle-Reid, Maureen
• Is Part Of: Gender, place and culture. Volume 23:Issue 11(2016)
• Page Start: 1586
• Page End: 1598
• Publication Date: 2016-11-01
• Subjects: Men -- caregiving -- diversity -- geographies of care -- intersectionality -- multiple chronic conditions; Hombres -- cuidado -- diversidad -- geografías del cuidado -- interseccionalidad -- enfermedades crónicas múltiples; 男性 -- 照护工作 -- 多样性 -- 照护地理 -- 相互交织性 -- 多重慢性病症; Human geography -- Periodicals; Feminism -- Periodicals; Géographie féministe -- Périodiques; 305.305
• DOI: 10.1080/0966369X.2016.1219329
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0966-369X

Abstract

Abstract: Within Canada, it has been estimated that almost half of all family, also known as informal, caregivers are now men. However, the contributions and experiences of these caregiver men have received relatively little attention, particularly from geographies of care and caregiving researchers. This analysis hopes to shed light on the unique, yet diverse, experiences of men caregiving for persons with multiple chronic conditions in Canada. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with nineteen men caregivers in two provinces of Canada, this analysis aims to explore how social and physical axes of difference shape men's daily lived geographies when providing care. Our thematic findings reveal that caregiving is experienced by participants at the three scalar levels of the body, the home and the community. Our intersectional analysis reveals that at each scalar level, being a man was not the only variable shaping caregiving experiences. Rather, it was also age, physical capacity, culture, socio-economic status, marital status, housing status, social connectedness, relationship to the care recipient and care recipients' physical and mental capacity that shaped experiences and meanings of place during the caregiving process. Accounting for this diversity at each scale, our findings point to the unique stresses and challenges experienced. We conclude by emphasizing the significance in acknowledging the diverse challenges that exist for all caregivers in order to inform comprehensive and inclusive social policy that ultimately will produce equitable caregiver supports.