Learning Local Care: An Ethnography of Caregiving in Hawaii

Abstract

This thesis is an ethnographic account of caregiving and end-of-life decision-making in Hawai‘i. By participating in family caregiver classes provided by a local hospital, I detail how the socioeconomic realities of living in Hawai‘i and the biomedical authority of medical professionals actively work against the interests of caregivers who make health decisions based on both cultural values and economic limitations. Through the embodied experience of practicing care in the home, caregivers selectively reject the biomedicalization of care and organize their actions around the institution of family. As evidenced through examples from two key informants the circumstances of family caregivers are varied and complex, leading to a variety of experiences and creative solutions. Though the embodied experiences of family caregivers disillusions them to the examples provided through the family caregiver classes, the classes succeed in providing a platform for family caregivers and professionals to hold meaningful discussions.