Family Caregiver Veteran Care

In this chapter, a family caregiver (FC)/daughter of a WWII Veteran and Purple Heart award recipient tells her story of caring for her dad for a span of 10 years before his death on July 7, 2023, at the age of 97. Six themes emerged from this one-on-one interview: Care at the VA, Typical Day as a Veteran FC, Outside Help, Guilt and Lack of Support, Important Considerations, and Dad’s Daughter Again. An elaboration of each theme shows the effectiveness of FC care on patient outcomes and quality of life. Just doing the interview post-death of the patient allowed this FC to share her feelings and know that her dad would be proud of this chapter to help future veterans’ healthcare needs. An in-depth description of VA resources for FCs and the opportunities for nurses to bridge the gaps in veteran FC care are provided. This chapter also highlights the basics of qualitative research methods. Finally, reflection/action exercises afford readers a deeper appreciation of veteran FC care and ways to improve that experience on patient outcomes.