Experiences of caregivers of children receiving palliative care at Mzuzu Central Hospital, Malawi

The number of children with life threatening and limiting illnesses requiring children palliative care is increasing each and every year. In response to the rising number of children requiring palliative care, family involvement in care giving has expanded. Caregivers play a major role in caring for...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Chaputula, Bertha Mwandida
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: 2021
Subjects:
Online Access:http://nkhokwe.kuhes.ac.mw:8080/handle/20.500.12845/119
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1766578241474134016
author Chaputula, Bertha Mwandida
author_facet Chaputula, Bertha Mwandida
author_sort Chaputula, Bertha Mwandida
collection DSpace
description The number of children with life threatening and limiting illnesses requiring children palliative care is increasing each and every year. In response to the rising number of children requiring palliative care, family involvement in care giving has expanded. Caregivers play a major role in caring for children with life-limiting or threatening illnesses on palliative care at home as well as in hospital. However, for them to adequately provide the care, they require adequate support.This study reports on the caregivers’ experiences of caring for children receiving palliative care at Mzuzu Central Hospital Palliative Care Clinic. The study was aimed at exploring the caregivers’ experiences of caring for children receiving palliative care. A descriptive qualitative research method was used. The target group was caregivers of children with life threatening or limiting illnesses receiving palliative care at the clinic. A total of 30 caregivers were recruited for the study using purposive sampling technique. Qualitative data was collected using semi structured interview guide for in-depth interviews and a tape recorder while analysis was done using thematic analysis. Findings revealed that caregivers play a major role in caring for their children receiving palliative care. They provide assistance with activities of daily living and health care management in additional to their usual daily chores. The needs of the children receiving palliative care included transportation, finances, information, health care and daily needs. Family members and community members formed part of the caregivers’ support systems. Caregivers of children receiving palliative care reported facing financial, social, physical, and psychological and health service challenges. Proper assessment and availability of adequate support would positively influence the caregiver’s experiences of caregiving and the child’s quality of life. Hence, there is need to develop practical interventions that will lessen the caregivers’ challenges.
format Thesis
id oai:nkhokwe.kuhes.ac.mw:20.500.12845-119
institution My University
language English
publishDate 2021
record_format dspace
spelling oai:nkhokwe.kuhes.ac.mw:20.500.12845-1192023-03-11T23:59:17Z Experiences of caregivers of children receiving palliative care at Mzuzu Central Hospital, Malawi Chaputula, Bertha Mwandida Research Subject Categories::Child Health Nursing The number of children with life threatening and limiting illnesses requiring children palliative care is increasing each and every year. In response to the rising number of children requiring palliative care, family involvement in care giving has expanded. Caregivers play a major role in caring for children with life-limiting or threatening illnesses on palliative care at home as well as in hospital. However, for them to adequately provide the care, they require adequate support.This study reports on the caregivers’ experiences of caring for children receiving palliative care at Mzuzu Central Hospital Palliative Care Clinic. The study was aimed at exploring the caregivers’ experiences of caring for children receiving palliative care. A descriptive qualitative research method was used. The target group was caregivers of children with life threatening or limiting illnesses receiving palliative care at the clinic. A total of 30 caregivers were recruited for the study using purposive sampling technique. Qualitative data was collected using semi structured interview guide for in-depth interviews and a tape recorder while analysis was done using thematic analysis. Findings revealed that caregivers play a major role in caring for their children receiving palliative care. They provide assistance with activities of daily living and health care management in additional to their usual daily chores. The needs of the children receiving palliative care included transportation, finances, information, health care and daily needs. Family members and community members formed part of the caregivers’ support systems. Caregivers of children receiving palliative care reported facing financial, social, physical, and psychological and health service challenges. Proper assessment and availability of adequate support would positively influence the caregiver’s experiences of caregiving and the child’s quality of life. Hence, there is need to develop practical interventions that will lessen the caregivers’ challenges. The number of children with life threatening and limiting illnesses requiring children palliative care is increasing each and every year. In response to the rising number of children requiring palliative care, family involvement in care giving has expanded. Caregivers play a major role in caring for children with life-limiting or threatening illnesses on palliative care at home as well as in hospital. However, for them to adequately provide the care, they require adequate support.This study reports on the caregivers’ experiences of caring for children receiving palliative care at Mzuzu Central Hospital Palliative Care Clinic. The study was aimed at exploring the caregivers’ experiences of caring for children receiving palliative care. A descriptive qualitative research method was used. The target group was caregivers of children with life threatening or limiting illnesses receiving palliative care at the clinic. A total of 30 caregivers were recruited for the study using purposive sampling technique. Qualitative data was collected using semi structured interview guide for in-depth interviews and a tape recorder while analysis was done using thematic analysis. Findings revealed that caregivers play a major role in caring for their children receiving palliative care. They provide assistance with activities of daily living and health care management in additional to their usual daily chores. The needs of the children receiving palliative care included transportation, finances, information, health care and daily needs. Family members and community members formed part of the caregivers’ support systems. Caregivers of children receiving palliative care reported facing financial, social, physical, and psychological and health service challenges. Proper assessment and availability of adequate support would positively influence the caregiver’s experiences of caregiving and the child’s quality of life. Hence, there is need to develop practical interventions that will lessen the caregivers’ challenges. 2021-02-26T13:03:37Z 2021-11-03T06:47:08Z 2021-02-26T13:03:37Z 2021-11-03T06:47:08Z 2015-12-01 Thesis http://nkhokwe.kuhes.ac.mw:8080/handle/20.500.12845/119 en application/pdf
spellingShingle Research Subject Categories::Child Health Nursing
Chaputula, Bertha Mwandida
Experiences of caregivers of children receiving palliative care at Mzuzu Central Hospital, Malawi
title Experiences of caregivers of children receiving palliative care at Mzuzu Central Hospital, Malawi
title_full Experiences of caregivers of children receiving palliative care at Mzuzu Central Hospital, Malawi
title_fullStr Experiences of caregivers of children receiving palliative care at Mzuzu Central Hospital, Malawi
title_full_unstemmed Experiences of caregivers of children receiving palliative care at Mzuzu Central Hospital, Malawi
title_short Experiences of caregivers of children receiving palliative care at Mzuzu Central Hospital, Malawi
title_sort experiences of caregivers of children receiving palliative care at mzuzu central hospital, malawi
topic Research Subject Categories::Child Health Nursing
url http://nkhokwe.kuhes.ac.mw:8080/handle/20.500.12845/119
work_keys_str_mv AT chaputulaberthamwandida experiencesofcaregiversofchildrenreceivingpalliativecareatmzuzucentralhospitalmalawi