Caregiver burden and health-related quality of life: A study of  informal caregivers of older adults in Ghana

Abstract

Background Similar to many developing countries, caregiver burden remains high in Ghana which may affect informal caregivers of older adults’ health-related quality of life (HRQoL). However, no study has examined the association between caregiver burden and HRQoL among informal caregivers of older adults in Ghana to date. Understanding this association may well help to inform health and social policy measures to improve HRQoL among informal caregivers of older adults in Ghana. Situated within a conceptual model of HRQoL, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between caregiver burden and HRQoL among informal caregivers of older adults in Ghana. Methods We obtained cross-sectional data from informal caregiving, health, and healthcare (N = 1853) survey conducted between July and September 2022 among caregivers (≥ 18 years) of older adults (≥ 50 years) in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. The World Health Organization Impact of Caregiving Scale was used to measure caregiver burden. An 8-item short form Health Survey scale developed by the RAND Corporation and the Medical Outcomes Study was used to measure HRQoL. Generalized Linear Models were employed to estimate the association between caregiver burden and HRQoL. Beta values and standard errors were reported with a significance level of 0.05 or less. Results The mean age of the informal caregivers was 39.15 years and that of the care recipients was 75.08 years. In our final model, the results showed that caregiver burden was negatively associated with HRQoL (β = − .286, SE = .0123, p value = 0.001). In line with the conceptual model of HRQoL, we also found that socio-economic, cultural, demographic and healthcare factors were significantly associated with HRQoL. For instance, participants with no formal education (β = −1.204, SE= .4085, p value = 0.01), those with primary level of education (β = −2.390, SE= .5099, p value = 0.001) or junior high school education (β = −1.113, SE= .3903, p value= 0.01) had a significantly decreased HRQoL compared to those with tertiary level of education. Participants who were between the ages of 18–24 (β = 2.960, SE= .6306, p value=0.001), 25–34 (β = 1.728, SE= .5794, p value = 0.01) or 35–44 (β = 1.604, SE= .5764, p value= 0.01) years significantly had increased HRQoL compared to those who were 65 years or above. Also, participants who did not utilize healthcare services in the past year before the survey significantly had increased HRQoL compared to those who utilized healthcare services five or more times in the past year (β = 4.786, SE=. 4610, p value= 0.001). Conclusion Consistent with our hypothesis, this study reported a significant negative association between caregiver burden and HRQoL. Our findings partially support the conceptual model of HRQoL used in this study. We recommend that health and social policy measures to improve HRQoL among informal caregivers of older adults should consider caregiver burden as well as other significant socio-economic, cultural, demographic, and healthcare factors.

Perspectives of Family Caregivers on Healthcare Provided to Older Adults With Hypertension and/or Diabetes Mellitus in Ghana

“…Communication breakdowns, difficult-to-access healthcare facilities, and poorly trained healthcare personnel have also been reported as gaps in the care of older adults ( Motsohi et al, 2020 ). Similar findings have been reported in Ghana to establish the burden for family caregivers of older adults ( Agyapomah et al, 2023 ; Agyemang-Duah et al, 2020 , 2024 ; Kyei-Arthur et al, 2022 ; Kyei-Arthur & Codjoe, 2021 ). However, none of these studies qualitatively focused on the perspectives of family caregivers on the care provided to older adults when they assist them in seeking healthcare in a hospital setting.…”

“…There is a limited scope of the nation’s retirement income security system for older adults, and this presents an actual financial hardship for their family caregivers ( Agyemang-Duah et al, 2019 , 2020 , 2024 ; Kpessa-Whyte, 2018 ). It is, therefore, not surprising that there were genuine calls for financial support from the government by some of our participants.…”

The role of gender in health insurance enrollment among geriatric caregivers: results from the 2022 informal caregiving, health, and healthcare survey in Ghana

“…In Ghana, like in many other countries, the caregiving role has historically been seen as the responsibility of females, especially when the care receivers are family members such as parents, spouses, and siblings [ 19 ]. However, lately, male involvement in informal caregiving is increasing [ 19 , 20 ]. During care provision, caregivers suffer from varied comorbidities, such as physical and mental health issues, which may result from the provision of care [ 21 , 22 ].…”