UNDERSTANDING THE GENDERED EXPECTATIONS AND EXEMPTIONS EXPERIENCED BY MALE DOUBLE DUTY CAREGIVERS: A QUALITATIVE SECONDARY ANALYSIS
There is growing evidence that employed family caregivers experience challenges in balancing multiple demands associated with family caregiving. In particular health professionals who are also family caregivers, defined as double duty caregivers (DDCs), are expected to use their professional knowledge and skills in the provision of family care. The purpose of this qualitative secondary analysis was to explore how gendered expectations and exemptions entered into the caregiving and health experiences of male nurses who were DDCs. The overarching theme was the determinants of care, and included the subthemes of familial responsibility and relationships, nursing knowledge and skills, and access to resources. Being a male nurse and male family member created intersecting gendered expectations and exemptions. These coexisting, and at times conflicting expectations and exemptions, constituted by the determinants of care, bore a direct influence on male DDCs' health as they experienced tension when negotiating their dual roles. The study findings have direct implications for healthcare policy and practice, research, and theory development.
double duty caregivers, family caregivers, professional caregivers, nurses, gendered expectations, gendered exemptions
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