Care Provision Challenges and Capacity Enhancement of Family Caregivers of People Living with HIV and AIDS in Thika District.

Abstract

People Living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA) often require specialized care especially from those closely related to them. The task of caregiving to PLWHA can be a daunting undertaking in view of the fact that there is no validated cure yet to HIVIAIDS. Most of this care for the PLWHA takes place in the home and is likely to be done by afamily member. However, very little is understood about the challenges these caregivers encounter and their proposed strategies to enh ance their care provision capacity. The study therefore, sought to investigate the challenges of care provision and capacity enhancement strategies of family caregivers (FCGs) of PLWHA in Thika District. Data collection was done using interview schedules for a sample of 177 FCGs and Focus Group Discussion (FGDs) with 40 Community Health Workers (CHWs). Data was analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. The results showed that over four fifths (93%) of the FCGs experienced care provision challenges. Th ese challenges included inadequate finances (83%), food provision (56%), stress (52%), stigma and isolation (32%), inadequate medicine and supplies (24%), difficult care recipient (19%) and strain on children education (13%). The FCGs proposed strategies which they felt could enhance their capacity namely; economic empowerment (69%), regular training (58%), psychological support (42%), stigma reduction (30%) and sustained provision of medicine and supplies (17%). In order to enhance the FCGs capacity as will as improve the quality of care provided to PLWHA the FCGs would need an effective and sustained implementation of these strategies.