Description
Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide and the third cause of mortality in Kenya accounting for 22,000 deaths annually. Eighty percent of recorded cancer cases are diagnosed at advanced stages when curative care is unlikely and require palliative care. Due to limited in-patient hospice beds, the burden of end of life care for the patients is transferred to family members, often without any or limited training and preparation for such duties. The caregiver unmet needs, the effects of caregiving on the caregivers and their potential ways to support caregivers are unknown in our setting.
This study aims to find out the experiences of home-based caregivers offering end of life care for advanced cancer patients. The specific objectives are to identify challenges perceived by primary caregivers, identity the perceived effects of caregiving on primary caregiver, identify perceived sources of support for caregivers and to explore what caregivers feel can be done to support them.
The study design will be qualitative, phenomenological in nature. In-depth interviews will be conducted on primary caregivers of advanced and dependent cancer patients in the patient’s home to see the patient and caregiver in context. Field notes and non-participant observation will also be used to collect data, and the information obtained from this will be used to contextualize the data, and inform interpretation of data obtained from the in-depth interviews. The study participants will be recruited from Kijabe Palliative clinic. The interviews will be digitally recorded and transcribed, and translated into English. Thematic analysis will be used to analyze the data. Ethical clearance has been obtained from both Kijabe Hospital and Kabarak University Ethics Committees.
