Asteriou, Ioanna (2024) Exploration of strategies that promote resilience among caregivers in the field of deafblindness in Greece. Master thesis, Pedagogical and Educational Sciences.
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Abstract
The present study aims to identify the challenges faced by Greek caregivers (informal and formal) when working or coexisting with individuals who are deafblind. The obstacles of deafblindness in Greece, such as limited services, insufficient training, and lack of expert experience, highlight the need to understand how caregivers navigate these barriers. Consequently, through this study, the strategies/coping mechanisms that caregivers employ to be resilient were examined. A mixed methods research design was applied to answer the main research question: How do caregivers define and describe the challenges that arise when they are supporting or communicating with people who are deafblind? An online survey with a self-designed and two standardized questionnaires was filled out by a group of 17 participants (mean age 39). The study revealed that the Greek caregivers experienced challenges in the areas of communication, health, emotion, and diversity in needs and characteristics. Three types of obstacles were reported, conduct of intervention, services issues, and training. Furthermore, the findings revealed moderate resilience and professional satisfaction levels among the caregivers, highlighting the necessity of tailored interventions and strategies to cope better with the practical and psychological conditions they face. Notably, the participants selected social coping as the most preferred mechanism (7 out of 17), followed by problem-focused coping as the next most preferred (5 out of 17). These results set the stage for further research into the relationships between resilience and quality of life among caregivers in the field of deafblindness, and offer added value to the investigation and enrichment of strategies that could be more effective than existing approaches. Keywords: Greek Caregivers, challenges, strategies/coping mechanisms, deafblindness, resilience, questionnaires
| Item Type: | Thesis (Master) |
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| Supervisor name: | Cantell, Marja and Westberg, Johannes |
| Degree programme: | Pedagogical and Educational Sciences |
| Differentiation route: | Deafblindness [Master Pedagogical and Educational Sciences] |
| Date Deposited: | 18 Feb 2025 08:15 |
| Last Modified: | 18 Feb 2025 08:15 |
| URI: | http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/4621 |
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