Commentary by Grinstead
Abstract
Linda NicholsonGrinstead PhD, RN Grand Valley State University, Grand Rapids, MI lthough the professional literature has been reporting on issues sur- A rounding grandparent caregivers for almost 20 years, there has been an increased focus on those issues in the United States in the past few years. This renewed emphasis can likely be attributed to the mandate to include, for the first time, questions about multigenerational families in the 2000 U.S. census. With the growing body of research on the effects of caregiving on grandparents' lives, the authors have taken one segment of the experi- ence, the period of transition from one type of living arrangement to another, and explored the perceptions and meanings of that transition to grandmother caregivers. The many studies on life transitions involve a panoply of methods using a variety of terms and categories to capture the essence of the individual experiences. The authors of this study use a phenomenological approach and a paradigm case to illustrate their findings, allowing readers to immerse them- selves in the personal experiences of the participant and to gain insight into the lived experience of a grandmother caregiver in transition. Interestingly, the themes are similar to those expressed