CHAPTER 1
PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND
1.1 Introduction
Care giving to members of the elderly family is very much enshrined in culture
in the Philippines. It is stated that more than 80 percent of Filipino citizens aged over
60 rely on their children or relatives to take care of them on a day-to-day premise
(Philippines statistics Authority, 2023). Although legislations such as republic act
9994 (expanded senior citizens act), and initiatives such as the department of social
welfare and developments (DSWD) national family caregiver support program are in
existence, they have not made much difference since there have been problems
such as awareness, poor accessibility and weak implementation (Cruz et al., 2021).
The caregivers are mostly middle aged adults who have to combine work and bring
up their families as well. The result of this is usually a lot of stress, burnout, and ill
health (Alzheimers association,2020). Some families are left to the mercy of
institutionalizing their elderly relatives what is very costly and not very emotional. In
order to avoid this, government initiated programs seek to give financial assistance
and respite care and emotional support (Pascual & Javier, 2022) that enable families
to maintain home-based care.
The world has an upsurge in the population of aged individuals. According to
the world health organizations (WHO), the population of people 60 years of age and
more will total 2 billion in 2050 compared to 1 billion in 2020. Such rapid growth
creates a greater need in care giving services since a long life leads to chronic
disease, disabilities, or mental impairment o many older adults. In reaction, nations
like Philippines have launched programs, which allow them to help by offering
financial aid and healthcare, training the caregivers as well as supporting the needs
of the community to alleviate the pressure of care giving and still attend to older
members of the population.
Family caregivers are very instrumental in providing care to their loved ones
as well as decreasing the burden on the national healthcare economy. They are
considered to be an informal caregiver, and their role has been awarded more and
more attention in research and policy making. Yet, the issue of family caregivers
should be addressed efficiently.services, education, information, emotional support,
help by a professional person, or other community individuals may be a form of
support. This will involve a research to analyze the experiences of family caregivers
and determine the effects of government programs on their welfare and capacity to
care about elderly people.
Although government programs are there to assist family caregivers, there are
concerns as regards to how effective they are to meet the real needs of the
woman/man who cares about the elderly in their life. During the creation of some
programs, financial aid exists, but skill report to receive no adequate help in remote
or low-income communities. Lack of funding, disproportionate service delivery and
ignorance of the populace discourage optimal achievement of these support
systems.
Moreover, a research conducted by Santos and Medina (2020) reported that
even in cases when the caregivers are provided with financial support, it usually is
insufficient to cover that total cost of care, transport, and special nutrition. Emotional
and psychological strains are also not dealt with,and the caregivers are extremely
anxious, depressed and burn out because of the absence of mental health support
facilities. According to the world health organization (2021), care giving a critical
health issue, should focus on comprehensive policies on the same.
Moreover, such programs are also monitored and evaluated poorly. The
agencies including DSWD can have policies, but there is no implementation and
evaluated. That influences long-term effects and sustainability (department of social
welfare and development, 2020). Initiatives such as a training programs to become a
caregiver or a temporary respite program might be introduced, and unless followed
up, the majority of caregivers believe they have been left on their own or abandoned.
It is a burning point because of the further investigations into the aging
population. the Philippine institute for developing studies (PIDS,2021) insists that
there is an urgent necessity t restructure the policy of dealing with the ageing
population to make sure that caregivers are empowered and enabled. The
reinforcement of support to caregivers does not only benefit the aged but also he
healthcare system at large. The role of caregivers is well known as it relieves the
pressure on hospitals and plays an important role in home-based care, but it is not
acknowledged in policy planning.
Thus, the research aims to investigate the reality of how well the existing
programs by the government help the family health care givers of the elderly people
of the Philippines. It will also capture the effectiveness of such programs on the well-
being of the caregivers, the accessibility of the services, emotionally support, as well
as the quality of care they render. The purpose of the study also seeks to offer
evidence-based suggestions that can results in the increase in effectiveness and
spread of such efforts.
Caregivers find themselves in a stressful condition most of the time when
taking care of old people, with cases of burnout, financial stress, and so on.
Research studies have revealed that caregivers may dace a risk of falling mental
and physical health, which may consequentially affect their care towards their
patients, when not properly supported (Johnson & Lee, 2023). To address these
burdens government programs are created but their scope and performance is very
different population groups. As an example, although financial subsidies are reported
by a certain number of caregivers, other respondents point out that there are certain
accessibility gps or plans do not cover their special care needs (Garcia et al., 2022)
New studies highlight the role of assessment of such programs to be able to
see the strengths and weaknesses they have. Such aspects s awareness of the
programs, convenience in the enrollment process, and cultural inclusion are quite
crucial to dictate their success (Brorwn & Davis, 2024). Also, the sustainability of
such efforts over a long term is also an important issue, especially bearing in mind
an increasingly costly healthcare sector and demographic changes. Policy makers
should strike the line between short-term caregiver assistance and long-term support
systems (Martinez & Wong, 2025). This paper aims to critically analyza the
government programs that are aimed at supporting senior citizen caregivers and will
discuss the strengths, limitations, and aspects of improvement of the structure.
