Informal Caregivers’ Perception of Barriers for Cognitive Health Promotion Activities for Older Adults in Galle District

Abstract

Health promotion activities to improve cognition have shown a significant impact on the prevention of cognitive decline in elderly people. Limited studies are available on the caregivers’ perceptions of barriers to health promotion interventions to improve the cognitive health of older adults. A qualitative descriptive explorative study was conducted with the participation of 17 caregivers. Data were collected through focus group discussions, and all the sessions were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. The thematic analysis was used for data analysis. The mean age ±SD of the participants was 40.24±4.7 years and 9 participants out of 17 were female. Five themes were identified based on discussions with caregivers. These themes were; lack of awareness of cognitive decline and preventive interventions, the physical discomfort of older people, lack of financial independence, resource deficiency, and intransigent behavior. The findings revealed that the majority of caregivers do not have an appropriate understanding of cognitive health promotion interventions. Therefore, a well-structured, culturally sensitive, and personcentered intervention programme would be beneficial to introduce cognitive health promotion activities for older adults and caregivers.