Background: The negative health results associated with the family caregivers of older people can be alleviated with social support, which is considered a valuable resource. Hence, the factors contributing to social support need to be understood. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the social support associated with the family caregivers of older people. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 231 family caregivers of older people conveniently selected from two districts in Kelantan, a state in the North-East Region of Peninsular Malaysia. Data were gathered between June to December 2021 using a Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the data in frequencies and percentages. Independent t-test and one-way analysis of variance were used to examine correlations among variables. Results: The mean scores of social support for family caregivers were significantly higher among their family (Mean ± SD; 5.44 ± 0.969) and other important people (5.25 ± 1.123) compared to their friends (4.84 ± 1.094). Caregivers’ gender and duration of caregiving were significant factors associated with social support (p <0.05). Conclusions: The family caregivers received maximum support from their family and other important people, but they were less supported by their friends. This study also observed that the perceived social support of the caregivers of older people was affected by several factors, such as gender and duration of caregiving. This finding gives nurses and other healthcare workers the basic information they need to enhance nursing interventions and promote social support among those who care for older people, which can positively impact caregiving.
Caregivers play a significant role in the care of older people. However, their knowledge, practice and needs in the care of older people have been poorly characterised. Therefore, this review was performed to provide an overview of caregivers’ knowledge, practice and needs in the care of older people. A literature search was conducted using the following electronic databases: ProQuest Health and Medical Complete, Wiley Online Library, EBSCO Host, Science Direct and Scopus. Search terms used were “older people”, “caregiver”, “knowledge”, “practice” and “needs”. Two reviewers independently screened the studies and the extracted data. A total of 117 articles were initially found using the above keywords. After using a set of criteria in the screening process, nine articles were found relevant to include in this review. This review of the articles presents a summary of (1) caregivers’ knowledge about the care of older people, (2) caregivers’ practice in the care of older people and (3) caregivers’ needs in the care of older people. The analysis reveals that most of the caregivers addressed a lack of knowledge about and poor practice in the care of older people. This review also offers important insight into the needs of caregivers. Hence, this review recommends further studies on knowledge, practice and needs in the care of older people to identify contextual challenges and provide evidence-based solutions to improve caregivers’ knowledge, practice and needs in the care of older people.
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