Spirituality, culture, and family resilience in Alzheimer's care: A qualitative descriptive study in Türkiye.

BACKGROUND

Family caregivers of people with Alzheimer's disease face escalating practical and emotional demands. In collectivist settings, caregiving is also shaped by cultural values and spiritual meaning, yet these dimensions remain underexamined in psychiatric nursing contexts.

OBJECTIVE

To describe how spirituality, cultural norms, and personal meaning-making contribute to family resilience among Turkish female caregivers of relatives with Alzheimer's disease, and to outline implications for psychiatric and geriatric nursing practice.

METHODS

We conducted a qualitative descriptive study in Karaman, Türkiye, using purposive sampling in collaboration with the Provincial Directorate of Family and Social Services. Fourteen female family caregivers participated in audio-recorded, semi-structured, face-to-face interviews (30-90 min) conducted in Turkish in participants' homes. Data were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Reporting followed COREQ guidelines.

RESULTS

Analysis revealed six interrelated themes reflecting how Turkish caregivers sustain resilience in Alzheimer's care: collective adaptation within the family, spirituality as an emotional anchor, cultural expectations and moral meaning, personal growth and inner strength, endurance and emotional sacrifice, and hope and acceptance of uncertainty. Together, these themes illustrate a culturally embedded model of resilience in which caregiving is experienced not only as a demanding role but as a meaningful act of faith, moral duty, and emotional transformation.

CONCLUSIONS

Caregiving was experienced as a morally and spiritually meaningful family role that fostered resilience while also generating value tensions. Psychiatric and geriatric (geropsychiatry) nurses should incorporate spiritual assessment, culturally congruent care planning, and support for moral distress into routine caregiver care. These findings offer practice-ready guidance for tailoring caregiver support in culturally traditional contexts.