Other Titles
Exploring the Lived Experience of Significant Other Caregivers Providing Care to Partners Surviving a Spinal Cord Injury [Title Slide]
Abstract
According to the World Health Organization, 250,000 to 500,000 people worldwide have suffered a spinal cord injury. Significant others may become caregivers responsible for meeting the needs of the dependent partner. The focus of this study is on significant other caregivers’ experiences providing care for partners after a spinal cord injury.
The effects of stress from providing care may be detrimental to caregivers' psychological and physical well-being. Psychological distress, such as anxiety and depression in caregivers, is a significant public health issue that affects the quality of life for millions of individuals. There is a lack of studies focusing on the lived experiences of significant other caregivers in committed relationships with partners after a spinal cord injury. It is not known how caregivers navigate changes in their relationships and lives. Hence, a qualitative research study was conducted guided by a descriptive phenomenological methodology.
The purpose of this study was to explore caregivers’ experiences. To add to nursing knowledge, the research question is, what is the lived experience of significant other caregivers who provide care to partners surviving a spinal cord injury? Through an analysis of in-depth interviews with significant other caregivers via Zoom, a detailed description of their lived experiences was provided, and the essence of their lived experiences was investigated. Nurses must know the caregivers’ lived experiences to provide anticipatory guidance adequately.
Analysis of the interview data resulted in the identification of nine major themes. These themes illustrate the key points of the phenomenon investigated in this study as expressed by the participants. The identified themes portray the lived experiences of significant other caregivers who are providing care to partners who have survived a spinal cord injury. These themes emerged from the participants’ own words and reflect the challenges, complexities, effects on relationships, and coping mechanisms associated with being a significant other caregiver to a partner with a spinal cord injury.
Notes
Reference list included in attached slide deck.
Sigma Membership
Epsilon Kappa
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Phenomenology
Research Approach
Qualitative Research
Keywords:
Stress and Coping, Long-term Care, Curriculum Development, Caregivers, Caregiver Experiences, Spinal Cord Injuries
Recommended Citation
Lumley, Lisa A., "Exploring Lived Experiences of Significant Others as Caregivers to Partners with Spinal Cord Injury" (2025). Biennial Convention (CONV). 100.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/convention/2025/presentations_2025/100
Conference Name
48th Biennial Convention
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Conference Year
2025
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2025-11-24
Exploring Lived Experiences of Significant Others as Caregivers to Partners with Spinal Cord Injury
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
According to the World Health Organization, 250,000 to 500,000 people worldwide have suffered a spinal cord injury. Significant others may become caregivers responsible for meeting the needs of the dependent partner. The focus of this study is on significant other caregivers’ experiences providing care for partners after a spinal cord injury.
The effects of stress from providing care may be detrimental to caregivers' psychological and physical well-being. Psychological distress, such as anxiety and depression in caregivers, is a significant public health issue that affects the quality of life for millions of individuals. There is a lack of studies focusing on the lived experiences of significant other caregivers in committed relationships with partners after a spinal cord injury. It is not known how caregivers navigate changes in their relationships and lives. Hence, a qualitative research study was conducted guided by a descriptive phenomenological methodology.
The purpose of this study was to explore caregivers’ experiences. To add to nursing knowledge, the research question is, what is the lived experience of significant other caregivers who provide care to partners surviving a spinal cord injury? Through an analysis of in-depth interviews with significant other caregivers via Zoom, a detailed description of their lived experiences was provided, and the essence of their lived experiences was investigated. Nurses must know the caregivers’ lived experiences to provide anticipatory guidance adequately.
Analysis of the interview data resulted in the identification of nine major themes. These themes illustrate the key points of the phenomenon investigated in this study as expressed by the participants. The identified themes portray the lived experiences of significant other caregivers who are providing care to partners who have survived a spinal cord injury. These themes emerged from the participants’ own words and reflect the challenges, complexities, effects on relationships, and coping mechanisms associated with being a significant other caregiver to a partner with a spinal cord injury.
Description
The abstract summarizes a descriptive, qualitative research study exploring the lived experiences of significant other caregivers providing care to the their partners who have survived a spinal cord injury. Prior to this study, a significant gap in the literature was identified in that there were many studies about caregivers but none about significant other caregivers whose partners had a spinal cord injury specifically.