CALLED TO CARE: How Latina Family Caregivers Sustaining Those with Alzheimer’s Redefine Sociocultural Expectations to Find Purpose

Abstract

This ethnographic project explores how Latina family caregivers contend with and redefine sociocultural expectations to find purpose and meaning in their role. With over 11 million family caregivers supporting individuals with Alzheimer’s disease in the United States, the majority of whom are women and disproportionately women of color, understanding caregivers’ lived experiences to provide adequate and accurate support is important now more than ever. Existing literature on this topic often frames this labor as burdensome and coercive, emphasizing the ways in which cultural values, gender norms, and caregiver burnout negatively impact the caregiver’s wellbeing. While these frameworks are critical, they overlook how caregivers themselves make sense of their role. Through the stories of Gloria and Catalina, I aim to demonstrate that while stepping into the role of a family caregiver can be challenging and emotionally demanding, these same sociocultural forces were often cited as sources of strength, purpose, and pride. In doing so, this project argues that while caregiving may be shaped by sociocultural forces and accompanied by moments of burnout, it is also often internally experienced as a calling that, through religious grounding, provides caregivers with a profound sense of purpose.