QUALITY OF LIFE OF ADULT UNPAID CAREGIVERS OF RENAL DISEASE PATIENTS RECEIVING CARE IN A NIGERIAN TERTIARY HOSPITAL
UKOHA-KALU BO1, ADIBE MO1, UKWE CV1
Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacy Management, University of Nigeria, 410001 Nsukka
Afr. J Pharm Res Dev; Volume 11(1): 049-057 ; 2019
ABSTRACT
Not less than 50million people have been diagnosed with renal disease (CKD). Despite the advance in its treatment, the patients’ quality of life is still lower than the general population, and even lower than patients with other chronic illness. In addition, the caregivers are more likely to have health problems in terms of caring stress and financial burden. Providing care for patients with renal disease can be debilitating. As the cognitive impairment imposed by the chronic illness limit the ability of the patient to care for themselves, the caregivers’ burden tend to increase. Some researchers have shown that caregivers have poor physical health and often experience social, emotional, and financial losses. The aim of this study was to determine the quality of life of adult unpaid caregivers taking care of renal disease patients. The study was a prospective cross-sectional study conducted at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital Ituku /Ozalla Enugu State and the Enugu State University Teaching Hospital Parklane. Adult carer Quality of life (ACQoL) questionnaire was administered to caregivers taking care of renal disease patients to determine their quality of life. A well-structured questionnaire was also administered to collect the patients and caregivers demographic variables. The data collected was analysed using the SPSS version 16.0 and results were presented in frequency and percentages. Chi square was used to determine the association between the caregivers’ demographic variables and their quality of life.
About 8.5% caregivers were below 20 years of age. Majority of the caregivers were females and 9.9% of the caregivers reported never to have had a formal education. About 46.5% of the caregivers were married while the rest were widowed, separated or single. About 4.2% of the caregivers earn above fifty thousand (₦50,000) and 67.6% were gainfully employed. A greater percentage of the caregivers have spent more than a week taking care of these renal disease patients. About 26.8% of the caregivers have a perceived low self-esteem as 83.7% of them report that the patient depends on them for most of their activity. The study found that most caregivers experienced moderate strain and therefore medium quality of life due to caring
Email of correspondence:blessing.ukoha-kalu@unn.edu.ng
KEYWORDS: QUALITY OF LIFE; CAREGIVERS; RENAL DISEASE