Gerontology & Geriatric Research

Abstract

An Exploratory Study of the Knowledge and Practices of Family Caregivers in the Care of the Elderly at Home in the Buea Health District, Cameroon

Nahyeni Bassah, Ukum Susan Ubenoh and John Ngunde Palle

Background: Family members in Cameroon care for older relatives with little or no education on this role and no support from health care workers.

Aim: To explore the knowledge and practices of family caregivers of older adults, in order to design a health education program that can assist them in their caregiving role.

Methods: A cross-sectional community-based study design was employed, with a structured questionnaire administered to 126 primary family caregivers from 21 communities in the Buea Health District. Data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics.

Results: Most participants had knowledge of common problems of the elderly like joint pains (95.2%) and difficulty walking (95.2%), but a good number did not know about complex problems like bowel (33.1%) and urinary (31%) incontinence as well as elderly care resources within their communities (88.1%). Regarding their practices, they mostly reported assisting older relatives with activities of daily living. However, a few of these relatives also reported engaging in the practice of some highly skilled healthcare task like providing their elderly relatives with automedications (14.3%).

Conclusion: The knowledge and practices of family caregivers in the care of older relatives is generally poor and demands that training programs to enhance their care giving skills be developed. Centres that supports elderly care should create more awareness in the population about their existence and service provision.