The home care experience as perceived by the caregivers of Chinese dialysis patients

The caring issues perceived as crucial by caregivers in home-based dialysis, have never been systematically studied in any depth in Hong Kong. This research aimed to explore various characteristics of the home care experience perceived by caregivers. Thirty caregivers of home dialysis patients were interviewed using a phenomenological approach. Selection was by convenience, The interviews were conducted in the outpatient clinic following receipt of the informant's consent. The instrument consisted of two aspects designed to elicit the phenomena. The caregivers' responses seemed to indicate that caregiving is likely to have financial, emotional, social and health-related implications. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.