Familial Caregiving of Hospitalised Patients: A Sustainable Cultural Etiquette

Abstract

It is evident that involving family members in caring for their hospitalised relatives is a phenomena that is gaining more ground in healthcare delivery, especially in the fields of modem nursing, medicine and psychology. This can be seen in the rising advocacy for patient and family centred care. The development has been attributed to restorative benefits of psychological and emotional supports provided to patients by their family and the need to support the inefficient caring activities due to shortage of healthcare personnel. However, little is known of the cultural predisposition of the familial caregiving practices especially in Africa where culture dictates healthcare practices. Using interview and questionnaire survey, this study investigates the underlying relationship between the familial caregiving and cultural healthcare provisions of family system in Nigerian hospital wards. The findings reveals family solidarity, spiritualism and domestic chores among the cultural attributes that characterised the familial caregiving. This indicates that some form of caregiving of hospitalised patients provided by their family members in Nigeria and entails cultural etiquette that not be undermined. Thus, effective caregiving in Nigerian hospital wards can only be achieved by taking into cognisance the cultural traditions of the society as it relates to healthcare practices.