Adebayo Kudus Oluwatoyin, Somefun Oluwaseyi Dolapo, Omobowale Mofeyisara, Usman Rukayat
Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
School of Public Health, University of The Witwatersrand, South Africa.
PLoS One. 2025 Jul 31;20(7):e0327198. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0327198. eCollection 2025.
Hospital-based informal caregiving in Nigeria is shaped by care mobilities and contextual factors such as policy contradictions and normative care philosophies. This study explores how these factors influence caregiving practices in a Nigerian tertiary health facility. Using a qualitative approach, data were gathered through interviews and observations, involving 75 participants, including 36 in-depth interviews with caregivers and inpatients, and 39 key informant interviews with staff like nurses, doctors, security guards, and ad-hoc caregivers. Findings showed that many informal caregivers traveled long distances to assist hospitalized relatives, often "hanging around" the hospital and engaging in micro-mobilities, such as running errands. Geographical distance, policy contradictions, and the financial costs of hospitalization significantly affected caregiving dynamics. Care mobilities caregivers moving within the hospital environment emerged as a critical aspect of the caregiving process. Understanding these mobilities and how they intersect with contextual factors is essential to improving caregiving experiences. The study highlights the need for policies that support informal caregivers and enhance patient outcomes, especially in terms of reducing the burdens caregivers face due to long travel distances, hospital policies, and financial challenges.
在尼日利亚，基于医院的非正式照料受到照料流动以及政策矛盾和规范性照料理念等背景因素的影响。本研究探讨了这些因素如何影响尼日利亚一家三级医疗机构中的照料实践。采用定性研究方法，通过访谈和观察收集数据，涉及75名参与者，包括对照料者和住院患者进行的36次深入访谈，以及对护士、医生、保安和临时照料者等工作人员进行的39次关键 informant 访谈。研究结果表明，许多非正式照料者长途跋涉去帮助住院的亲属，经常在医院“徘徊”并进行一些微移动，比如跑腿办事。地理距离、政策矛盾以及住院的经济成本显著影响了照料动态。照料者在医院环境中的移动成为照料过程的一个关键方面。理解这些移动以及它们如何与背景因素相互交织对于改善照料体验至关重要。该研究强调需要出台支持非正式照料者并提高患者治疗效果的政策，特别是在减轻照料者因长途奔波、医院政策和经济挑战所面临的负担方面。
