Navigating Adversities: Resilience among Caregivers in Delhi’s Childcare Institutions during COVID-19

Description

Page: 1075-1081

Vaishag Velayudhan (Department of Social Work, University of Delhi, New Delhi)

Resilience has been widely defined as positive adaptation to stressful situations and maintenance of mental strength despite adversities. The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on the mental health of people and has caused detrimental effects to overall health thus causing greater amounts of stress. Even in the context of care practices, the caregivers have faced higher levels of stress while providing care for those in need. The current study thus aims to identify the resilient factors used by the caregivers of childcare institutions in Delhi during the COVID-19 pandemic, while providing care to children. This study employs a qualitative approach and uses an interpretive phenomenological approach to explore the caregiving experiences of caregivers with a focus on their resilience in the caregiving journey. The sample size included (N= 16) caregivers, who were the primary caregivers of children in the children’s homes in Delhi. A semi-structured interview guide was used to gather data from the participants and a thematic approach was employed to arrive at themes. A total of three major themes and eleven sub-themes were developed. The emergent themes were key determinants of resilience which were also identified as major contributors to caregivers’ positive sense of self, sense of purpose and satisfaction.