Household interaction patterns and elderly persons caregivers’ psychological wellbeing in Makueni sub-county, Kenya

Abstract

The psychosocial needs of the elderly are ever changing and this dynamism raises burden on caregivers of the elderly creating need for family support to balance their emotional disturbance. This study explored the relationship between household support systems and psychological wellbeing of elderly persons’ caregivers in Makueni Sub-County, Makueni County, Kenya. The study adopted Bowen’s Family Systems theory and used mixed method embedded design that combined correlation survey and phenomenology. The target population was caregivers, elderly persons and family members in 339 household families of elderly people receiving care at home. The sample size was 40 households in which 40 caregivers and family members each as well as 10 elderly were all sampled using purposive sampling. The 40 caregivers and family members were identified by virtue of the households while the elderly persons were identified on the basis of ability to respond to the questions. Data was collected using the Ryff’s scale of psychological wellbeing (to measure wellbeing of caregivers) with reliability Cronbach’s alpha of 0.86 and McMaster family device to assess the family interaction patterns of household family members with 0.7 coefficient. Data analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) - quantitative data was analyzed using univariate analyses and Pearson correlation. The findings of the study may be used in developing policies on care and protection of elderly people, but more importantly in enhancing counselling interventions for handling caregivers’ psychological issues, hence facilitate family systems that support mental wellness of caregivers.