Qualities of family caregiving for persons with schizophrenia in rural communities of Nueva Ecija

• Main Author: Buenaventura, John Ryan Asuncion
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2012
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_masteral/4221
• Institution: De La Salle University

This study describes the qualities of family caregiving for persons with schizophrenia in terms of structure, process and outcome in selected municipalities of Nueva Ecija. Using qualitative research, data were obtained through in-depth interviews and informants were gathered through a non-probability sampling. Included in the study were 20 key informants who are family members of the care recipient, at legal age, and the provider of care to them for at least one year. Additionally, care recipients had schizophrenia for not less than two years as diagnosed by a health provider. Results of the study show the different qualities of family caregiving. Structural qualities are the characteristics of family caregivers, their family units, and their perceived access to formal mental health system. The family caregivers are mostly females, mothers, aged 55 and did not reach college. Their duration in caregiving increases when their member with schizophrenia experiences relapse. On the other hand, their members with schizophrenia are aged 39 years, almost equal in sexes, with more than half had schizophrenia before the age of 20, three-fourths of them had it for more than 10 years and living with their parents. The family units are with four to seven members, extended kinship in nature, annual income of 60,000 pesos, family caregivers with triple roles and single source of income. For the perceived access to formal mental health system, family caregivers have access to two mental hospitals outside Nueva Ecija that are usually discontinued and to three private psychiatric clinics in Cabanatuan City. Procedural qualities are the different kind of family caregiving activities such as care management, coping and support seeking activities. Generally, family caregivers provide physical, psychological, social, and spiritual care with physical care as provided most. They cited different forms of coping strategies with psychological coping as mostly used. In terms of support seeking, majority discontinued the use of treatment facilities and needed financial assistance in caregiving. Outcome qualities include the perceived effects of caregiving activities on family caregivers. Perceived socio-economic effects of family caregiving on caregivers are more dominant than physical and psychological effects. These contribute to their financial difficulties and social relationships. Findings show that qualities of family caregiving structures affect the family caregiving activities by different social forces such as social embodiment, affinity, attachment, and networks. These structural characteristics are the family caregivers age, gender, and their relationships with their members with schizophrenia; family units living arrangement, kin network, and sources of income; and formal mental health systems availability, affordability, and physical accessibility. With the qualities of family caregiving, needs of family caregiving are identified. The study also reveals that qualities of family caregiving structures, processes, and outcomes are connected with each other. Therefore, the quality of family caregiving system is dependent to the qualities of the family caregiving structure, process, and outcome. Determining the qualities of family caregiving structures are therefore necessary to improve the quality of family caregiving system. Efforts should be directed towards improving the service delivery for persons with schizophrenia by focusing on the family caregiving structures: family caregivers, family units and mental health system.