Working Together to Support Family Caregivers of Older Nigerian Adults with Chronic Illness at Home

In Nigeria, the burden of caring for older adults with chronic illness at home significantly impacts family members who are the primary caregivers. This calls for support from relevant stakeholders that can help improve caregiver outcomes. Despite having an informal social support network comprising family, friends, and religious and community groups, it is not enough to relieve the burdens of care. Studies suggest collaborative efforts between relevant stakeholders to support family caregivers. This study, therefore, aims to explore the perception of policy implementers, health care professionals, community, and religious leaders on support for family caregivers of cohabiting older adults with chronic illness in Benue state, Middle-belt region in Nigeria. A convenient purposive sampling technique guided the recruitment process, and in-depth semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from fourteen respondents in this qualitative study. Findings revealed that family caregivers needed three types of support: (1) create public awareness to recognise the family caregivers’ role; (2) identification of family caregivers’; (3) enhance access to training services that will help improve home care support. As a result: (1) the health and well-being of family caregivers will be promoted; (2) a database of family caregivers’ will be generated; (3) an organised system will be in place for stakeholders to assist. Therefore, relevant stakeholders such as community leaders, religious leaders, Health care professionals, and non-governmental organisations, with the government taking the lead, should work towards creating a programme, committee, or department that addresses family caregivers’ immediate needs. This requires each stakeholder to play a vital role, focusing on an essential holistic change to support family caregivers.