Caring Processes and Level of Engagement among Informal Caregivers of Older Persons in a Tertiary Hospital in Metro Manila, Philippines

Abstract

Informal caregiver care is a critical aspect that is involved among hospitalized older persons. The study aims to identify the association between the caring processes and the level of informal caregiver engagement. The Caring process among informal caregivers of older persons was identified using a Likert style questionnaire. It is composed of five determinants, namely Knowing, Being With, Doing for, Enabling, and Maintaining Belief. The first phase of Knowing involved being overall aware of the condition of the informal caregivers admitted older person. Being with is the second caring process in which the informal caregiver was physically and emotionally with the patient. Doing for is the third phase in which care was rendered with dignity, as if the older person were doing it for himself. The fourth process is enabling, in which the transition of care was facilitated towards self-care. Lastly, maintaining belief focused on maintaining the older person¶s hope and faith-filled attitude as he or she continued with his or her life. The level of informal caregiver engagement was identified following the principles of caregiver engagement with a Likert scale questionnaire. This involved three categories namely Policy and structure, Culture and Mindset, and Procedures. The study is a correlational quantitative study that involved informal caregivers answering printed questionnaires within 30 minutes. The results involved obtaining the frequency and percentage among informal caregivers' age, gender, and relationship with the patient. The dominant relationship in informal caregiving was spouse, the gender for informal caregiving was female and the result of age range was 48-58 years old. The descriptive statistics for the mean and standard deviation of the caring process determinants and level of informal caregiver engagement were then obtained. Finally, the mean and standard deviation of the caring process and the level of informal caregiver engagement were correlated using the IBM SPSS statistics software for identification of association. Results showed a positive correlation between the caring processes and the following: Policy and Structure, Culture and Mindset, and Procedures