Caregiver situation and characteristics of caregiving of disabled people in Santiago de Cali

Abstract

Introduction: Caregiving is an inherent human activity, and informal caregiving is unpaid, often unrecognized, care given by the family and friends of the ill or disabled person. Materials and Methods: This study describes the sociodemographic characteristics of caregivers as well as the person receiving the care, and the caregiving situation and its context. It explores caregivers' needs for support as well as their caregiving rutines. With this goal in mind, a descriptive-exploratory study was carried out, starting with visits to 83 families selected through non-random sampling of an initial database. Later, 36 caregivers from county 18 of Santiago de Cali were chosen and surveyed.

Results: The results show a predominantly female population, with low levels of education, adult age for both caregivers and care receivers, and a family link between caregiver and care receiver.

Conclusion: The majority of caregivers also are responsible for other domestic tasks (80%), report a history of disease (50%), do not receive payment for caregiving (82%), and require some kind of support (61%).