Multiple Victims: The Result of Caring Patients in Vegetative State

BACKGROUND: Having a patient in a vegetative state in the family is a complicated and stressful experience. Caring for such patients with complete disability at home is very challenging. OBJECTIVES: The present study aimed to explore the outcomes of caring for patients in a vegetative state for families and caregivers at home. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this qualitative study, 16 vegetative patients’ caregivers were selected through purposive sampling. Unstructured interviews and observations were used for data gathering. Data collection was continued until saturation of data and emergence of the main themes. Data analysis was performed by the content analysis method. RESULTS: The analysis of the gathered data led to three themes: “lost main caregiver”, “affected caring partner” and “affected family”. Each theme had some subthemes and subcategories. CONCLUSIONS: The three emerged themes in this study showed that all the family members of vegetative patients, depending on their responsibilities, were affected by physical, mental, social and economic issues.