Challenges encountered by family caregivers of prostate cancer patients in Cape Coast, Ghana: a descriptive phenomenological study

Abstract

Background In Ghana, prostate cancer is more prevalent than all other cancers, with a mortality rate of 75% partly due to late presentation to the health care facilities. Limited health services provision across the country and shortages of skilled nurses place a significant demand on family caregivers who are often ill-equipped for the caring role, resulting in many challenges. As they are expected to provide complex care at home with little resources, information, and support, the healthcare system rarely addresses the challenging needs of these family caregivers. This study explored the challenges encountered by family caregivers of people with prostate cancer. Methods We conducted interviews using a descriptive phenomenological approach. Twelve family caregivers of prostate cancer patients were selected through a purposive sampling technique at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital. All interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analysed using Colaizzi’s (1978) data analysis approach. Results Three main themes were identified as critical challenges: education and training needs, resources and caregiver-nurse relationship issues. Under the three main themes emerged seven sub-themes that collectively hindered the family caregiver’s ability to meet the care demands. Sub-themes that emerged were; lack of preparedness towards the caring role, lack of knowledge about condition/ treatment, misconception about the condition, lack of accommodation facilities, financial constraints, poor communication, and poor staff attitude. Conclusion Caregiving is associated with significant challenges that hinder the family caregiver’s ability to care for the patient effectively, further diminishing the caregiver’s quality of life and patient care. Therefore, healthcare professionals, especially nurses, should consider these challenges family caregivers face and take measures to obviate them through education, preparation and support.

Psychosocial experiences of caring by family caregivers of patients living with prostate cancer in a teaching hospital: A descriptive phenomenological study

“…As part of the inclusion criteria for the study, family caregivers who provided the most assistance to prostate cancer patients with significant experiences were selected. Expressly, these caregivers must have provided care for at least 6 months, aged ≥18 years and were willing to participate in the study with informed consent (Owoo et al, 2022). The study, however, excluded bereaved family caregivers who no longer cared for patients living with prostate cancer.…”

Care for the Cardiovascular Accident Survivor: Experiences of Family Caregivers

“…The role of family caregivers in the management of CVA survivors is invaluable [8,10,11,13,15,16,19,20]. There is growing global recognition of how family care is complementing medical intervention in improving the health and quality of life of CVA survivors [12,17,18,21,22]. So far, there is signi cant agreement across literature [8, 9,18,23] a rming the e cacy of effective family support and care in improving the health quality of life of CVA survivors.…”

“…So far, there is signi cant agreement across literature [8, 9,18,23] a rming the e cacy of effective family support and care in improving the health quality of life of CVA survivors. Meanwhile, caring for CVA survivors can be labour and time intensive and pretty stressful, as the caregiver may have to contend with complex and sometimes unfamiliar instructions from the medical staff [11,18,19,21]. Moreover, evidence suggests that effective family care and support require time, knowledge, skills, patience, and resources, which are normally lacking [18,19].…”

“…Considering how intricate and burdensome the caregiver role can be, preparing family caregivers for the task ahead is fundamental [8,9]. Thus, family caregivers are expected to be knowledgeable in CVD-risk factors and coping strategies, to enable them provide effective support to survivors [15,16,18,21]. Unfortunately, this is not the case in most parts of the world [19,21].…”

“…Thus, family caregivers are expected to be knowledgeable in CVD-risk factors and coping strategies, to enable them provide effective support to survivors [15,16,18,21]. Unfortunately, this is not the case in most parts of the world [19,21]. Meanwhile, there is growing evidence of family caregivers reporting multipsychological conditions like sadness, distress, fear, confusion, and anxiety [9,22,47].…”