Informal caregiving: empowering social support programs by employers

The problems faced by people providing informal care to family members with chronic illness has not been discussed thoroughly in Malaysia. This research has therefore been carried out with the aim of exploring types of informal social support currently practiced and related issues. It is based on a...

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Main Authors: Nur Saadah Mohamad Aun, Rusyda Helma Mohd
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2016
Online Access:http://journalarticle.ukm.my/9994/1/9445-36028-1-PB.pdf
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author Nur Saadah Mohamad Aun,
Rusyda Helma Mohd,
author_facet Nur Saadah Mohamad Aun,
Rusyda Helma Mohd,
author_sort Nur Saadah Mohamad Aun,
collection UKM
description The problems faced by people providing informal care to family members with chronic illness has not been discussed thoroughly in Malaysia. This research has therefore been carried out with the aim of exploring types of informal social support currently practiced and related issues. It is based on a qualitative analysis of the interviews of five informal caregivers responsible for chronically ill family members in Kuala Lumpur. All respondents have struggled to provide the financial and emotional support required, especially as four were unemployed. These respondents were dependent on the family breadwinner, relatives and/or agencies for their daily needs, and also for the costs of medical treatment. They were physically able to work, but had chosen to focus on giving care instead. Some of the respondents had worked previously, but resigned after the condition of their care recipient had worsened. As a consequence, the respondents were facing financial hardship. Thus this analysis proposes that employers should incoporate social support programs into work contracts to enable better working hours and more flexibility for those staff engaged in informal care. By adopting this social support program, it is hoped that informal caregivers could have more financial independance and be less reliant on government agencies and families for financial assistance.
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spelling ukm.eprints-99942017-01-17T09:34:22Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/9994/ Informal caregiving: empowering social support programs by employers Nur Saadah Mohamad Aun, Rusyda Helma Mohd, The problems faced by people providing informal care to family members with chronic illness has not been discussed thoroughly in Malaysia. This research has therefore been carried out with the aim of exploring types of informal social support currently practiced and related issues. It is based on a qualitative analysis of the interviews of five informal caregivers responsible for chronically ill family members in Kuala Lumpur. All respondents have struggled to provide the financial and emotional support required, especially as four were unemployed. These respondents were dependent on the family breadwinner, relatives and/or agencies for their daily needs, and also for the costs of medical treatment. They were physically able to work, but had chosen to focus on giving care instead. Some of the respondents had worked previously, but resigned after the condition of their care recipient had worsened. As a consequence, the respondents were facing financial hardship. Thus this analysis proposes that employers should incoporate social support programs into work contracts to enable better working hours and more flexibility for those staff engaged in informal care. By adopting this social support program, it is hoped that informal caregivers could have more financial independance and be less reliant on government agencies and families for financial assistance. Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2016 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/9994/1/9445-36028-1-PB.pdf Nur Saadah Mohamad Aun, and Rusyda Helma Mohd, (2016) Informal caregiving: empowering social support programs by employers. AKADEMIKA, 86 (1). pp. 3-9. ISSN 0126-5008 http://ejournal.ukm.my/akademika/issue/view/770
spellingShingle Nur Saadah Mohamad Aun,
Rusyda Helma Mohd,
Informal caregiving: empowering social support programs by employers
title Informal caregiving: empowering social support programs by employers
title_full Informal caregiving: empowering social support programs by employers
title_fullStr Informal caregiving: empowering social support programs by employers
title_full_unstemmed Informal caregiving: empowering social support programs by employers
title_short Informal caregiving: empowering social support programs by employers
title_sort informal caregiving empowering social support programs by employers
url http://journalarticle.ukm.my/9994/1/9445-36028-1-PB.pdf
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