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Older Persons Relocating With a Family Caregiver

Processes, Stages, and Motives

Université de Montréal

Janique Johnson-Lafleur

Université de Montréal

In North America, a significant number of families who care for an elderly relative relocate in the same residence. However, research has paid little attention to the process that precedes such relocation. This article aims at studying this process by examining the experiences of a sample of Canadian elderly and their caregivers, born in Quebec and in Haiti. The article highlights that in spite of diversity, moving in together usually occurs in stages and follows a relatively lengthy process in which transitory living arrangements are not uncommon. In addition, a range of events, hospital stays in particular, act as markers between stages or shorten their duration. It appears that cohabitation trajectories differ according to origin and generational group. Noteworthy is that home-care services did not greatly influence the cohabitation decision of respondents from either group. Most respondents claim that the decision to relocate together was consensual but motivated by a variety of reasons.

Key Words: coresidence • relocation process • informal caregiving • trajectories

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