Page 28 - 《南京医科大学学报社会科学版》2025年第5期

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南京医科大学学报（社会科学版）京医科大学学报（社会科学版） 第5期 总第130期
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Journal of Nanjing Medical University（Social Sciences）of Nanjing Medical University（Social Sciences） 2025年10月
Journal

A qualitative study on occupational burnout of caregivers for older

adults with cognitive disorder based on ground theory

SUN Zhongfeng，LI Jiahui
School of Sociology and Political Science，Anhui University，Hefei 230601，China
Abstract：The occupational burnout of both institutional and family caregivers for older adults with
cognitive disorder is a phenomenon worthy of great attention. Drawing on Maslach’s three⁃dimensional theory as
a research perspective，this study conducted in ⁃ depth interviews with family and institutional caregivers for
older adults with cognitive disorder in three cities of Anhui Province. Using the grounded theory to analyze their
occupational burnout dilemmas，this study found three major sources of occupational burnout：the emotional
labor loads and physical exhaustion in high⁃intensity caregiving，emotional exhaustion and career development
barriers resulting from the absence of support systems，as well as ethical conflicts and responsibility gaps
arising under the professional stigma. In response，the article proposes three coping pathways：alleviating
emotional labor pressure and improving the care support system；enhancing professional connectedness and
expanding career growth and support opportunities；reshaping the perceptions of caregiving values while
developing responsibility and value ⁃ oriented mechanism，thereby providing theoretical insights and practical
experience for caregivers’self⁃perceptions and their roles in senior care services.
Key words：caregivers；job burnout；cognitive disorder；grounded theory；older adults