Alrashed Abeer M
Department of Health Administration, College of Business Administration, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Scand J Caring Sci. 2017 Jun;31(2):263-272. doi: 10.1111/scs.12339. Epub 2016 Apr 14.
Although informal caregiving is a vital element in the process of supporting individuals with dependency, it is unrecognised most of the time, particularly by caregivers themselves. In Saudi Arabia, little attention has been devoted to informal caregivers; therefore, scarce coverage of this topic is obvious within the literature. This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried to explore informal caregiving within Saudi society by (i) describing informal caregivers and their care recipients and (ii) measuring the scope of care and enabling arrangements in the lives of informal caregivers. Numerical measures of frequency distribution were used to describe the participants and the correlate of demography among 341 female primary caregivers of the elderly (40%), individuals with disabilities (10%) or/and children aged five or younger (51%). Inferential statistics were used to test for significant associations among study variables. The majority of the participants were married with children and were middle-aged. However, the majority of care recipients were living with their caregivers; in addition, they were primarily females cared for by a mother or, less often, by a daughter (in-law). Enabling arrangements were on a moderate level, mainly in healthcare access, financial resources and family support, with lower signs detected in the quality of sleep indicator. These arrangements were significantly associated with caregiver age, education, career status and source of assistance. In conclusion, the statistics revealed by this survey indicated certain challenges that have been encountered by informal caregivers, primarily involving financial and social support. More coverage within the formal system of childcare must be provided to facilitate healthier childhoods. The long-term needs of individuals with dependency must be considered in the planning process of healthcare services, as well, remembering the needs and expectations of informal caregivers.
尽管非正式照护是支持依赖他人者过程中的一个重要因素，但它在大多数时候都未得到认可，尤其是照护者自身。在沙特阿拉伯，很少有人关注非正式照护者；因此，该主题在文献中的覆盖面很窄。本描述性横断面研究旨在通过以下方式探索沙特社会中的非正式照护情况：（i）描述非正式照护者及其照护对象；（ii）衡量非正式照护者生活中的照护范围和支持安排。使用频率分布的数值指标来描述341名女性主要照护者（老年人占40%，残疾人占10%，5岁及以下儿童占51%）的参与者及其人口统计学相关性。使用推断统计来检验研究变量之间的显著关联。大多数参与者已婚并有子女，且为中年人。然而，大多数照护对象与照护者住在一起；此外，他们主要是女性，由母亲照护，较少由儿媳照护。支持安排处于中等水平，主要体现在医疗保健获取、财政资源和家庭支持方面，在睡眠质量指标方面发现的迹象较少。这些安排与照护者的年龄、教育程度、职业状况和援助来源显著相关。总之，本次调查揭示的统计数据表明了非正式照护者面临的某些挑战，主要涉及财政和社会支持。必须在正式的儿童保育系统中提供更多保障，以促进更健康的童年。在医疗服务的规划过程中，也必须考虑依赖他人者的长期需求，同时牢记非正式照护者的需求和期望。
