New domains of health capability of family caregivers: An exploratory study using the grounded theory.

Increased life expectancy, a declining economic growth, and the management of chronic diseases call for inter-generational solidarity but undermine the physical and psychological health of family caregivers. Their health capability has already been studied through eight domains: physical and psychological functioning, lifestyle value, self-efficacy towards health services, family support, social capital, socioeconomic conditions and access to health services. Our aim was to identify new domains. Methods: A grounded theory method was applied. Family caregivers of stroke victims living at home were recruited in the Lorraine region (France; n=8) and Luxembourg (n=6). Semi-structured interviews were led face-to-face about their health status, how they currently take care of their health, and what internal resources they need to achieve optimal health. Verbatim were open-coded and grouped to form new domains of health capability. Items reflecting the main idea of the categories were formulated. Throughout the analyses, a control process was applied. Items were validated by consensus with an expert group. Results: Seven women and seven men (age 63.6±10.1) participated. Seven new domains emerged: health knowledge, health self-efficacy, health value, life skills, health decision-making, motivation, and attitude towards the future. 76 items were generated: 51 reflected generic abilities while 26 were specific to family caregiving. Discussion: Content analysis of these domains is highly instructive. First, it allows guiding the preparation of innovative supports to promote health capability, and second, this list can serve as a basis to elaborate a guide to which clinicians can refer to orient family caregivers according to their needs.