The caregiving trajectory among poor and chronically ill people

This article analyzes the caregiving trajectory for adults and elderly persons who suffer from diabetes. The objective is to develop a conceptual framework for understanding caregiving changes over time. An ethnographic study was conducted in a poor urban neighborhood in Guadalajara, Mexico, in which 21 caregivers were interviewed and followed from 1997 through 2001. The trajectory has a beginning and an end, and moves through three phases: semi-care, care, and dying. The phases differ by the type and timing of actions undertaken, and the degree to which the caregiver takes over the physical functions and social roles of the sick person.