Manganese poisoning (MP) is one of many chronic, degenerative conditions that result in spousal caregiver stress. Partners who were once fully functioning become strangers to those who love them. In time, spousal caregivers may come to view their erstwhile partners as patients, jailers, monsters, or bratty children. We explore spousal caregiver perceptions of loved ones with MP, based on the narrated experiences of five full-time South African carers and develop a typology of carer experiences, which contributes to an understanding of manganese poisoning, in particular, and to caregiving theory, in general. The findings contribute to practice by providing service providers with a rich understanding of carer stress and coping, in general, and the stress of those caring for partners with MP, in particular. Such richer understanding should extend service provider empathy and encourage appropriate, supportive intervention.
AlmeidaD.M. (2005). Resilience and Vulnerability to Daily Stressors Assessed via Diary Methods. Journal of Psychology, 14, 64–68.
2.
AndreS.SölveE. (2005). Family caregivers' subjective experiences of satisfaction in dementia care: Aspects of burden, subjective health and sense of coherence. Scandinavian Journal of Caring, 19, 157–168.
3.
AschnerM.LukeyB.TremblayA. (2006). The Manganese Health Research Program (MHRP): Statusreport and future research needs and directions. Neuro Toxicology, 27, 733–736.
4.
AwadallaA.W.OhaeriJ.U.SalihA.A.TawfiqA.M. (2005). Subjective quality of life of family caregivers of community living Sudanese psychiatric patients. Social Psychiatry psychiatric epidemiology, 40, 755–763.
5.
BiegelD.E.SongL.ChakravarthyV. (1994). Predictors of caregiver burden among support group members of persons with chronic mental illness. In KahanaE.BiegelD.F.WykeM.L. (Eds), Family caregiving across the lifespan (pp. 178–215). California: Sage.
6.
BlumerL.1969. Symbolic Interaction: Perspective and Method.Berkeley: University of California Press.
7.
BossP. (2006). Loss, trauma and resilience. Therapeutic work with ambiguous loss.New York: Norton.
8.
CarnevaleG.J.AnselmiV.BusichioK.MillisS.R. (2002). Changes in Ratings of Caregiver Burden Following a Community-Based Behavior Management Program for Persons with Traumatic Brain Injury. Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, 17, 83–95.
9.
CassimjeeN. (2008). Psychosis in Alzheimer's disease: Prevalence, clinical characteristics, symptom co-morbidity, and aetiology. South African Journal of Psychology, 38, 95–115.
10.
CassimjeeN.StuartA.D.Marchetti-MercerM. (2005). Non-cognitive disturbances and patient characteristics: Prevalence and relationship in Alzheimer's disease. South African Journal of Psychology, 35, 225–243.
11.
ChangK.H.HorrocksS. (2006). Lived experiences of family caregivers of mentally ill relatives. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 53, 435–443.
12.
CheH.YehM.WuS. (2006). The self-empowerment process of primary caregivers: A study of caring for elderly with dementia. Journal of Nursing Research, 14, 209–217.
13.
ChumblerN.R.RittmanM.Van PuymbroeckM.VogelW.B.QninH. (2004). The sense of coherence, burden, and depressive symptoms in informal caregivers. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 19, 944–953.
14.
DelportC.S.L.FoucheC.B. (2006). The place of theory and literature review in the qualitative approach to research. In De VosA.S.StrydomH.FoucheC.B.DelportC.S.L. (Eds), Research at grass roots for the social sciences and human service professions (pp. 261–267). Pretoria: Van Schaik.
15.
DowswellG.LawlerJ.DowswellT.YoungJ.ForsterA.HearnJ. (2000). Investigating recovery from stroke: A qualitative study. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 9, 507–515.
16.
DraperB.BowringG.ThompsonC.Van HeystJ.ConroyP.ThompsonJ. (2007). Stress in caregivers of aphasic stroke patients: A randomized controlled trial. Clinical Rehabilitation, 21, 122–130.
17.
GilgunJ.F. (2005). Qualitative research and family psychology. Journal of Family Psychology, 19, 40–50.
HeruA.M.RyanC.E. (2006). Family functioning in the caregiving of patients with dementia: One-year follow-up. Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic, 70, 222–231.
20.
HoweP.D.MalcolmH.M.DobsonS. (2004). Manganese and its compounds: environmental aspects. Report prepared for WHO. Retrieved from http://www.inchem.org/.
21.
HudsonP.L. (2006). How Well Do Family Caregivers Cope after Caring for a Relative with Advanced Disease and How Can Health Professionals Enhance their Support?. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 9, 694–703.
JiangY.MoX.DuF.FuX.ZhuX.GaoH.XieJ.LiaoF.PiraE.ZhengW. (2006). Effective Treatment of Manganese-Induced Occupational Parkinsonism with p-Aminosalicylic Acid: A Case of 17-Year Follow-Up Study. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 48, 644–649.
24.
KlosK.J.AhlskogJ.E.JosephsK.A.FealeyR.D.CowlC.T.KumarN. (2005). Neurologic Spectrum of Chronic Liver Failure and Basal Ganglia T1 Hyperintensity on Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Probable Manganese Neurotoxicity. Archives of Neurology, 62, 1385–1390. Retrieved from http://archneur.ama-assn.org.floyd.lib.umn.edu/cgi/content/full/62/9/1385.
25.
KosmalaK.KloszewskaI. (2004). The burden of providing care for Alzheimer's disease patients in Poland. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 19, 191–193.
26.
LazarusR.S.FolkmanS. (1984). Stress, appraisal and coping.New York: Springer.
27.
LeeH.S.KimD.K.KimJ. (2006). Stress in caregivers of demented people in Korea — a modification of Pearlin and colleagues' stress model. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 21, 784–791.
MartinC.J. (2005). Manganese neurotoxicity: Connecting the dots along the continuum of dysfunction. Neuro Toxicology, 27, 347–349.
30.
MinnesP.GraffeS.NolteM.L.CarlsonP.HarrickL. (2000). Coping and stress in Canadian family caregivers of persons with traumatic brain injuries. Brain Injury, 14, 737–748.
31.
MokhosiM.T.GrieveK.W. (2004). African families' perceptions of traumatic brain injury. South African Journal of Psychology, 34, 301–317.
32.
MurrayJ.SchneiderJ.BanerjeeS.MannA. (1999). Eurocare: A cross-national study of co-resident spouse carers for people with Alzheimers disease: II — a qualitative analysis of the experience of caregiving. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 14, 662–667.
33.
NeufeldA.HarrisonM.J. (2003). Unfulfilled expectations and negative interactions: Nonsupport in the relationships of women caregivers. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 41, 323–331.
34.
NieuwenhuisJ. (2007a). Introducing qualitative research. In MareeK. (Ed.), First steps in research (pp. 47–68). Pretoria: Van Schaik.
35.
NieuwenhuisJ. (2007b). Analysing qualitative data. In MareeK. (Ed.), First steps in research (pp. 98–122). Pretoria: Van Schaik.
36.
O'BrienM.T. (1993) Multiple Sclerosis: Stressors and strategies in spousal caregivers. Journal of Community Health Nursing, 10, 123–135.
37.
PotgieterJ.C.HeynsP.M. (2006). Caring for a spouse with Alzheimer's disease: Stressors and strengths. South African Journal of Psychology, 36, 547–563.
38.
ProotI.M.Abu-SaadH.H.CrebolderH.F.J.M.GoldsteenM.LukerK.A.WiddershovenG.A.M. (2003). Vulnerability of family caregivers in terminal palliative care at home; balancing between burden and capacity. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Science, 17, 113–121.
39.
ProvencherH.L.PerreaultM.St-OngeM.RouusseauM. (2003). Predictors of psychological distress in family caregivers of persons with psychiatric disabilities. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 10, 592–607.
40.
RobertsonA.VenterC.BothaK. (2005). Narratives of depression. South African Journal of Psychology, 35, 331–345.
41.
SalesE. (2003). Family burden and quality of life. Quality of Life Research, 12 (Suppl. 1) (pp. 33–41). Kluwer Academic Publishers.
42.
SawatzkyJ.E.Fowler-KerryS. (2003). Impact of caregiving: Listening to the voices of informal caregiver. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 10, 277–286.
43.
StolleyG.AndrewM. (2008). Manganese poisoning: Negotiations fail. The Citizen, 13 February.
44.
StrydomH.2006. Ethical aspects of research in the social sciences and human service professions. In De VosA.S.StrydomH.FoucheC. B.DelportC.S.L. (Eds), Research at grass roots for the social sciences and human service professions (pp. 56–85). Pretoria: Van Schaik.
45.
TemaneM.WissingM.P. (2006). The role of subjective perception of health in the dynamics of context and psychological wellbeing. South African Journal of Psychology, 36, 564–581.
46.
Van PuymbroeckM.RittmanM.R. (2005). Quality-of-life predictors for caregivers at 1 and 6 months poststroke: Results of path analyses. Journal of Rehabilitation Research & Development, 42, 147–160.
47.
VorsterM. (2007). Consent and Confidentiality. Shrink Wrap Ethics Workshop, 10 June 2007. Johannesburg. Unpublished workshop notes.
48.
WrightL.K.LitakerM.LaraiaM.T.DeAndradeS. (2001). Continuum of care for Alzheimer's disease: A nurse education and counseling program. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 22, 231–252.
