EXPLORING THE EXPERIENCES OF INFORMAL CAREGIVERS OF THE ELDERLY IN ANUM-BOSO IN THE EASTERN REGION OF GHANA.

Informal caregivers remain a backbone to elderly caregiving in Ghana. Their experiences during caregiving have not gained much attention among scholars. The goal of the study was to explore the experiences of informal caregivers of the elderly in Anum-Boso. This will help equip stakeholders to design helpful interventions regarding informal caregiving and the actors within the caregiving relationship. The study adopted a qualitative approach with specific emphasis on phenomenology. The aim was to explore the subjective experiences of the informal caregivers and the meaning they attribute to their experiences within their social environment. With a snowball sampling approach, twenty informal caregivers of the elderly were interviewed. Using the matrix-based thematic framework analysis and relying on the analytic hierarchy, the data was analysed and findings discussed under major themes and the objectives. The study findings revealed that informal caregivers experience significant fulfilments in the caregiving duty which are in the form of both material and non-material benefits. Informal caregivers relish much satisfaction in the non-material benefits which were in the form of social and emotional feelings emanating from reciprocity, ability to alleviate pain, demonstration of filial piety and seeing a relative being happy. The study also revealed that though informal caregivers suffer a wide range of consequences, the emotional or psychological consequences affect the overall life of the caregiver, dictates his or her life and have enormous influence on the relationship experience. The study found that despite the numerous consequences that informal caregivers of the elderly suffer, these caregivers do not consider their role or duties as impossible to carry out. Based on the findings of the study, it is recommended that financial, social and emotional support from family and regular financial support from District Assemblies should be made available to strengthen the caregiving capacity of the informal caregiver.