Detail Cantuman

ABSTRACT
Introduction: Nowadays, grandparents are still involved in the care of
grandchildren. The previous research showed that the grandparent
involvement in the care of grandchildren has a bad and good impact for
older adults. This study aims to gain a deep understanding of the
experience of older adults while caring for their grandchildren with
special needs.
Methods: Researchers use a phenomenological approach to explore the
experience based on awareness that occurs in some individuals. The
participants involved in this study were six older adults. Data were
collected by in-depth interview and analyzed by Colaizzi’s method.
Results: All participants have grandchildren who attended school for
special needs children in Surabaya city. This study showed all participants
responded positively and related involvement in taking care of
grandchildren. In addition, the decision to being a part of caring for the
grandchildren came from themselves and the discussions with both
parents. Most of the activities with grandchildren were spending time
together. However, all participants complained of being tired and this
condition can be solved by seeing grandchildren’s happiness. They
believed that grandchildren care is better with grandmothers or
grandfathers than with servants.
Conclusion: It can be concluded that the experiences of the older adult
taking care of grandchildren are very varied and positive for the older
adults. Further researchers are advised to continue to explore more detail
about the psychological influence of grandparents taking care of their
grandchildren with special needs.