Abstract:
AIDS scourge has put to test the capacity of Kenya’s health delivery system to meet the ever increasing number and needs of AIDS related illnesses and complications for equitable and humane treatment. This has led the government to rely on home-based care to fill the gap. Home-based care giving is well-recognized as the majority of care work due to illness takes place in the homes for a number of reasons, including the lack of a coordinated public policy addressing care needs, limited health infrastructure and human resources, and the preference of patients. The purpose of the study was to determine the socio-economic challenges and coping mechanisms of home based caregivers for people living with HIV/AIDS in Njoro Sub-county. The specific objectives were; to examine the types of support provided by home based caregivers for people living with HIV/AIDS; to determine the social challenges faced by home based caregivers for people living with HIV/AIDS; and, to explore the coping mechanisms used by home based caregivers for people living with HIV/ AIDS. The study used Coping theory and Behavioral theory as they deemed relevant to this study. The study employed descriptive survey research design which sought to obtain information that describes existing phenomena by asking individuals about their perceptions, attitudes, behavior or values. Purposive sampling was used to identify 420 home based caregivers who were registered with the local administration to receive relief of which Simple random sampling was used to obtain a study sample of 103 from a population of 420 who are registered. A questionnaire was used to collect data and the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 22.0 aided in the analysis. The data generated from the study was analyzed by descriptive statistics. From the study findings 76 (73.8%) were females and 27 (26.2%) were males. This indicates that caregiving seems to attract more women than men. From the study it was established that the most common social challenge faced by caregivers was stigma and discrimination as it was indicated by 87% of the home based caregivers. This had an influence on their interaction and it influenced emotional and psychological support being offered to the people living with HIV. Also majority (91.3%) of the caregivers indicated that lack of finances was a major economic challenge faced when taking care of HIV/AIDS victims. From the study findings this study recommends that policies on home based caregivers should be developed to accommodate the challenges faced by this group which provide alternative health care at home that ease pressure on health care facilities.
