Teaching families to be caregivers for the elderly

The number of elderly citizens in Samoa is increasing and caregivers are needed to meet the challenge of home care. Nurses provided a low-cost and effective workshop for family caregivers of the elderly. The purposes of the study were to determine a relatively inexpensive method to educate many caregivers; to determine the impact of the workshops on the individual caregivers; to assess the impact on the care given to the elderly as a result of the workshops and to determine potential policy issues related to the elderly for Samoa. The results of this qualitative study indicate information sessions were effective, a support network for the caregivers developed, the quality of care of the elderly improved, community awareness about the needs of the elderly increased, and an interdisciplinary group met to formulate a policy for government action to provide needed services for the elderly.