Home caregivers' satisfaction with the services provided by Riyadh Military Hospital's home support program

Abstract

Background and objectives: The satisfaction of the family is essential to the success of home care support services. This study aimed to assess home caregivers' satisfaction with support services and to identify potential factors affecting their satisfaction.

Design and settings: The study was conducted in the Family and Community Medicine Department at Riyadh Military Hospital using cross-sectional design over a period of six months.

Patients and methods: Two hundred forty participants were recruited by systematic random sampling from the division registry. Data were collected through telephone calls using a designed structured interview form. All research ethics principles were followed.

Results: The response rate was 76.25%. Most caregivers were patients' sons or daughters. The duration of patients' disabling illnesses varied from less than 1 year to up to 40 years. The majority of caregivers agreed that a home care services team provided the proper healthcare-related support to the patients and improved caregivers' self-confidence in caring for their patients. Overall, on a scale of 100%, the median level of satisfaction was 90%, and 73.2% of caregivers had a satisfaction score of 75% or higher. Increased age, female gender, and more frequent home visits were positive independent factors associated with caregivers' satisfaction scores.

Conclusion: Although most caregivers are satisfied with the services provided by a home care support program, there are still areas of deficiency, particularly in physiotherapy, vocational therapy, and social services. The implications are that caregivers need to be educated and trained in caring for their patients and need to gain self-confidence in their skills. The program's administration should improve physiotherapy, vocational therapy, social services, and procedures for hospital referral.