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Understanding the Role of Physical Leisure Activity in Stress Coping Process for Family Caregivers

LEE BO-MI 1

1세종대학교

Excellent Accredited

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study is to recommend physical leisure activity as a stress coping strategy for family caregivers who are under chronic stress and to explore its role in the stress coping process. In this study, qualitative research was conducted. This study adopted a phenomenological approach which focused on “what people experience and how they interpret the world.” The interviewees were 8 family caregivers who had been taking caring of their family member. These family members were patients in need of long-term care who received social nursing care services for less than 4 hours a day. The data were collected from May to October 2016, and a semi-structured interview guide structured the interviews. The analysis of the interviews showed that family caregivers who had been involved in physical activity were able to continuously relieve their stress and experienced positive emotions. This implies that physical activity has a positive impact on their ‘problem-focused’ and ‘meaning-focused’ coping strategies for managing their daily stress. Finally, this study provides implications for practical counseling and policy development for family caregivers through a deep understanding of the role of physical activity as a means of chronic stress management for family caregivers.

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.

This paper was written with support from the National Research Foundation of Korea.