Hospice family caregivers: an experience in coping.

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to identify coping strategies of rural family caregivers who were caring for an elderly relative in a home hospice situation. Each of the six participants were interviewed on two occasions exploring their caregiving experience with a focus on coping strategies. Colaizzi's six step phenomenological method was employed for data analysis. Participant caregivers specifically identified coping strategies of support, adaptive activities, spiritual means, and avoidance. The collected data were analyzed and the findings compared to related caregiving literature. Implications for nursing practice and future research opportunities are discussed.