Vårdande gärningar och vanor för en caritativ hållning I den vårdande akten

Abstract

The research interests address a need for knowledge regarding the importance of ‘acts of caring’ for a caritative approach when performing tasks in the care of the elderly. The overall aim of the research was to deepen the understanding of ethics and describe the actions and habits that are important in the ‘acts of caring’ for both patients and caregivers in relation to the caritative nursing and ethics of care relevant to the caritative care theory. The design of the study design is based on and from a human-scientific perspective and founded on a hermeneutic tradition based on Gadamer's philosophy. Data was collected partly from qualitative interviews with patients and caregivers and partly from a questionnaire for caregivers. The interviews were carried out in several home healthcare contexts. The data has been analysed and interpreted by means of qualitative content analysis. The result shows that the caregiver’s caring and non-caring deeds have significance for caregiving and this is manifested in the caregiver’s attitude, consciously or unconsciously. And it also shows that repetition results in either good habits or bad habits. With caritative ethics of care, good habits appear that alleviate suffering and promote health in an ‘act of caring’. Bad habits, which lead to bad deeds, have no place in the ethics of care and nursing theory, because a non-caring deed cannot create an ‘act of caring’. All forms of caring deeds and good habits can be connected to the character traits, virtues and moral integrity of the caregiver, and intertwine in such a way that the good habits of care may arise from another good habit or lead to a new good habit.