Preventing Mental Health Problems for Caregivers of Bedridden Patients in the Community

Abstract

The mental health of bedridden caregivers is extremely important. This is because bedridden caregivers are required to provide continuous, long-term care to patients throughout the day. These duties limit or take away their personal time or enough time to relax. The activities performed on the patient create a repetitive feeling and the boredom causes stress to accumulate and may create mental problems for the caregiver. From the study of Tha Chang Subdistrict Mueang Chanthaburi District, it was found that caregivers of bedridden patients can be divided into 3 types: caregivers who are relatives, caregiver that are neighbors, and caregivers who are employed to take care of patients at home. These three types of caregivers had no different stress level in caring for bedridden patients. This is due to insufficient knowledge and experience in caring for patients. According to the literature review, caregivers who had knowledge and experience. Therefore, to prevent mental health problems for caregivers of bedridden in the community health workers should be assessed and screened for mental health problems for their q1caregivers as well as providing knowledge and skills important in caring for bedridden patients