In-hospital informal caregivers' needs as perceived by themselves and by the nursing staff in Northern Greece: A descriptive study

This was a non-experimental descriptive study conducted in three general hospitals in Greece. The sample consisted of 320 nurses and 370 in-hospital informal caregivers who completed questionnaires. Descriptive statistics were analyzed using t-tests; group comparisons were conducted using ANOVA.The score of the questionnaire for health education and informational needs was significantly greater for informal caregivers (57.1 ± 6.9 and 26.6 ± 2.8) than for nurses (53.4 ± 5.7 and 22.4 ± 3.1) (p < 0.001). For the nursing staff, the factors that influence the informational needs of patients' caregivers were level of education and working experience, while for the caregivers the level of education was independently associated with the score for the health education needs. Finally, age, marital status, and level of education of informal caregivers' were independently associated with informational needs.The in-hospital informal caregivers perceived that they have more educational and informational needs than the nurses did. The findings of this study also show that the nursing staff has to identify the needs of in-hospital informal caregivers in order to be able to meet these needs.Informal care is defined as "a non-market composite commodity consisting of heterogeneous parts produced by one or more members of the social environment" [1]. Hospitalized patients are frequently facing problems with their self-care and as a result they need assistance [2]. In Greek hospitals, the nursing staff assists patients; however, the provision of help by in-hospital informal caregivers is a common phenomenon [3]. Family has a central role in maintaining the health status and providing informal health care, and is critical in helping its members to manage with illness [4,5], as well as in assisting in the recovery and rehabilitation process [5-7]. As stated in the literature, family members usually spend a considerable amount of time in the hospital with their hospitalized relatives [8],