Family Caregiving: Experiences Of Caregivers And Their Elderly Care Recipients In Urban Poor Communities In Accra, Ghana

ABSTRACT

In Ghana and other sub-Saharan African countries, the family is the primary caregiver for elderly persons and provides other forms of support to them. Urbanisation and its associated consequences have weakened traditional family ties and obligation, and subsequently impaired care for the elderly, particularly in urban poor communities in sub-Saharan Africa. Against this backdrop, this study explored the experiences of family caregivers and their elderly care recipients in two urban communities (James Town and Ussher Town) in Accra. This study specifically examined the socio-demographic characteristics and health status of the general elderly population, caregivers and their elderly care recipients in Ga Mashie, caregivers‟ motivations for providing care, challenges faced by caregivers, strategies employed by caregivers to cope with their challenges, rewards caregivers derived from caring for the elderly and perceptions of the elderly concerning the care they receive from their caregivers. The study used qualitative and quantitative data. The socio-demographic characteristics and health conditions of 170 elderly in Ga Mashie were covered under the quantitative component while a transcendental phenomenological study was conducted among twenty elderly care recipients and thirty-one family caregivers to understand their caregiving experiences. The findings of the quantitative data show that the majority of the elderly are females aged 60 to 74 years. In addition, most households of the elderly used public toilets and charcoal for cooking. Hypertension and diabetes were the most common non-communicable diseases among the elderly. Bivariate analysis between socio-demographic characteristics of the elderly population and their tenancy arrangements show that age, marital status, ethnicity, religion, and wealth quintile were significantly associated with tenancy arrangements. The qualitative data show that family caregivers were motivated by kin relationship, reciprocity, obligation, and altruism, among others to care for their care recipients. Family caregiving to the elderly care recipients posed financial, physical, social, and psychological challenges to caregivers. Family caregivers employed strategies such as praying, adaptation, perseverance and optimism, among others to cope with their caregiving challenges. Family caregivers derived rewards from providing care to their elderly care recipients and these rewards include: gifts, blessing, honour, and asset, among others. Most elderly care recipients reported that they were satisfied with the care they received from their caregivers. However, some elderly care recipients complained that they were abused verbally and neglected. Narratives of family caregivers acknowledged that the elderly in Ga Mashie were abused verbally and physically, neglected and accused of witchcraft. The study recommended that there should be public education on both positive and negative aspects of ageing. The study also suggested that family caregivers should be counselled by health professionals about the stressful nature of caregiving, how to deal with their elderly care recipients and helped to identify effective stress coping strategies. In addition, the government should create programmes to help people prepare for old age.