Caregiving in a tertiary health institution in North Central Nigeria: Support types and financial burden

Background: Caregivers play an important role in informal patient management. Identification of the support types and the financial challenges faced by caregivers will provide information on strategies to ease this burden. This study aimed to describe the support types and financial burden amongst caregivers in a tertiary hospital in North Central Nigeria. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted amongst caregivers of inpatients in a tertiary hospital in North Central Nigeria. Data were collected using a pre-tested interviewer-administered questionnaire and were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences package version 23. Results were reported in frequencies and proportions and presented in prose, tables and charts. Results: A total of 400 caregivers were recruited. The mean age was 38.32 ± 12.82 years and most (66.0%) were females. Caregivers supported their patients by running errands (96.3%) and 85.3% reported caregiving as stressful. The reported errands were purchase of medications (92.3%), supply of non-medical needs (63.3%), submission of laboratory samples and collection of results (52.3%) and service payment (47.5%). About two-thirds (63.2%) reported loss of income while caregiving and about half (50.8%) provided financial support to the patients. Conclusion: This study suggests that majority of caregivers experience significant physical and financial burden while caregiving. This burden can be eased off by the simplification of payment and laboratory processes and employment of more staff to support patients admitted to the wards. The financial burden experienced by caregivers reinforces the need to encourage more Nigerians to enrol in a health insurance scheme.