Den gode pårørende. Magt og moral i palliative omsorgsrelationer
(2014) SANM03 20132Social Anthropology
- Abstract (Swedish)
- English Summary
This master thesis concerns the lives of spouses to someone who is incurably sick and dying. The study took place in the homes of married couples where one of them is incurably sick with cancer. I have visited the couples talked with them and interviewed them, some together and some separately. This has made the empirical foundation for the present thesis. It becomes clear that there are many different concerns connected to the life with incurably sickness. The couples experience a rupture from what Anthony Giddens calls ontological security – that ‘I know, I exist in the world.’ This leads to a feeling of separation from everyday life that can be hard to recognize and apply meaning to. As a result it becomes difficult... (More) - English Summary
This master thesis concerns the lives of spouses to someone who is incurably sick and dying. The study took place in the homes of married couples where one of them is incurably sick with cancer. I have visited the couples talked with them and interviewed them, some together and some separately. This has made the empirical foundation for the present thesis. It becomes clear that there are many different concerns connected to the life with incurably sickness. The couples experience a rupture from what Anthony Giddens calls ontological security – that ‘I know, I exist in the world.’ This leads to a feeling of separation from everyday life that can be hard to recognize and apply meaning to. As a result it becomes difficult for the healthy spouse to know how best to care for their sick spouse and find a meaningful role in the changed everyday life.
The thesis explores how relatives understand and practice being ‘a good relative’. With the term ‘good relative’ refer to the relative’s subjective understanding and experience of how they in the best way live up to the expectations of being a relative. As such it is not in the interest of this thesis to make a normative judgement about what ‘a good relative’ is. It is a descriptive attempt to show how the relatives themselves understand and practice the role of the relative to an incurably ill spouse.
My argument unfolds on two levels. First of all, the thesis seeks to make an experience near analysis of what it means to be the closest relative to someone who is incurable sick. I show how the diagnosis ‘there is nothing else we can do’ leads to chaos and insecurity and argue that the relatives actively act in a way to create a movement from chaos to order and from taboo to naturalness. I show how they in there everyday life move between references to life and loss/death. As such they seek to create a balance between the normality/life and loss/dead.
The second part of my argument concerns the role of the relative in the care for the sick spouse. Kirsten Hastrup (2004) argues that an orientation towards and an understanding of a plot, helps the actor navigate and act - as an actor orients itself towards a manuscript. In this context the plot is the imminent death of the sick spouse. I explore how this affects the relative’s actions and how they create meaning in this poor plot. I argue that they in the care for their ill spouse change the focus from the future to the present and from plot to meaning. I abstract three primary roles that the relative occupies with the purpose of care: The suffering companion, the protector and the supervisor. I discuss how these different roles give the relative a position of power that can deprive the sick spouse its right to decide themselves. I argue in favour of a broader understanding of power, which takes into consideration the intention of the actor. In caring for the sick spouse the relative has their best interest at heart.
The role of the relative is further challenged in connection to the public health system and the professional caretakers. The relatives’ relationship with the expert system is both occupied with scepticism and trust. The professional caretakers seek to include the relatives in the care of the sick, which comes with an expectation that the relative takes an active part in the care. I argue that a triad, of the sick, the relative and the professional caretakers occur. The roles of the different actors are continuously up to negotiation and require the different roles to be flexible. In the thesis I explore how the different roles are negotiated in the triad, and how this sometimes leads to conflict.
I conclude that the relatives are in a situation where they constantly shift focus from loss/death to normality/life. By occupying the role of the caring relative they shift the focus from future to present and from plot to meaning. In that way the care giving becomes essential to understanding how relatives create meaning in everyday life and how they understand and practice being ‘a good relative’. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/4251128
- author
- Kuhr, Cecilie LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- SANM03 20132
- year
- 2014
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- language
- Danish
- id
- 4251128
- date added to LUP
- 2014-01-27 12:39:41
- date last changed
- 2014-01-27 12:39:41
@misc{4251128,
abstract = {{English Summary
This master thesis concerns the lives of spouses to someone who is incurably sick and dying. The study took place in the homes of married couples where one of them is incurably sick with cancer. I have visited the couples talked with them and interviewed them, some together and some separately. This has made the empirical foundation for the present thesis. It becomes clear that there are many different concerns connected to the life with incurably sickness. The couples experience a rupture from what Anthony Giddens calls ontological security – that ‘I know, I exist in the world.’ This leads to a feeling of separation from everyday life that can be hard to recognize and apply meaning to. As a result it becomes difficult for the healthy spouse to know how best to care for their sick spouse and find a meaningful role in the changed everyday life.
The thesis explores how relatives understand and practice being ‘a good relative’. With the term ‘good relative’ refer to the relative’s subjective understanding and experience of how they in the best way live up to the expectations of being a relative. As such it is not in the interest of this thesis to make a normative judgement about what ‘a good relative’ is. It is a descriptive attempt to show how the relatives themselves understand and practice the role of the relative to an incurably ill spouse.
My argument unfolds on two levels. First of all, the thesis seeks to make an experience near analysis of what it means to be the closest relative to someone who is incurable sick. I show how the diagnosis ‘there is nothing else we can do’ leads to chaos and insecurity and argue that the relatives actively act in a way to create a movement from chaos to order and from taboo to naturalness. I show how they in there everyday life move between references to life and loss/death. As such they seek to create a balance between the normality/life and loss/dead.
The second part of my argument concerns the role of the relative in the care for the sick spouse. Kirsten Hastrup (2004) argues that an orientation towards and an understanding of a plot, helps the actor navigate and act - as an actor orients itself towards a manuscript. In this context the plot is the imminent death of the sick spouse. I explore how this affects the relative’s actions and how they create meaning in this poor plot. I argue that they in the care for their ill spouse change the focus from the future to the present and from plot to meaning. I abstract three primary roles that the relative occupies with the purpose of care: The suffering companion, the protector and the supervisor. I discuss how these different roles give the relative a position of power that can deprive the sick spouse its right to decide themselves. I argue in favour of a broader understanding of power, which takes into consideration the intention of the actor. In caring for the sick spouse the relative has their best interest at heart.
The role of the relative is further challenged in connection to the public health system and the professional caretakers. The relatives’ relationship with the expert system is both occupied with scepticism and trust. The professional caretakers seek to include the relatives in the care of the sick, which comes with an expectation that the relative takes an active part in the care. I argue that a triad, of the sick, the relative and the professional caretakers occur. The roles of the different actors are continuously up to negotiation and require the different roles to be flexible. In the thesis I explore how the different roles are negotiated in the triad, and how this sometimes leads to conflict.
I conclude that the relatives are in a situation where they constantly shift focus from loss/death to normality/life. By occupying the role of the caring relative they shift the focus from future to present and from plot to meaning. In that way the care giving becomes essential to understanding how relatives create meaning in everyday life and how they understand and practice being ‘a good relative’.}},
author = {{Kuhr, Cecilie}},
language = {{dan}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Den gode pårørende. Magt og moral i palliative omsorgsrelationer}},
year = {{2014}},
}