Quantitative Research Proposal on ‘Care for the Caregivers’

Running head: RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Quantitative Research Proposal on ‘Care for the Caregivers’
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

1
RESEARCH PROPOSAL
1.0 Introduction
Caregiving is a very demanding job. Being a caregiver for any loved one, such as, family
or friends, may engage someone in daily jobs like helping the ailing with their daily activities,
such as, visiting the doctor, taking medicines, preparing and having food, providing emotional
support, taking a walk etc. However, often the job of caregiving becomes quite stressful for the
caregivers. They also need emotional wellbeing as well as physical wellbeing for themselves so
that they can stay mentally and physically fit and perform their duty. As highlighted by Heard
(2018), caring for someone can definitely be rewarding, however, it brings many stress creating
factors also. Caregiving is considered as a long term challenge and responsibility and it has an
emotional impact on the caregiver, whether the act of caregiving is bringing positive or negative
outcome.
1.1 Problem statement
As highlighted by Kim (2017), the caregivers must be given provisions to get relief from
their stressful situations. If the stress factors are left unchecked, those can take a severe toll on
the health, state of mind and personal relationships of the caregivers, and eventually that results
in a burnout, that is, a state of extreme physical, mental and emotional exhaustion. If this
situation is reached, then both the caregivers and the people they are caring for suffer
considerably. Hence, taking care of the caregivers is a necessity and not a luxury. Among various
measures, self-care is one, and caregiver role satisfaction has been found to be a significant
mediator between the stress factors and outcomes, like, emotional burnout or mental health
breakdown (Diallo et al., 2019). Thus, the problem for this research study is to evaluate the
significance of yoga and meditation practices as one of the self-care measures for reducing the
stress factors of the caregivers and uplift their mental and physical health.

2
RESEARCH PROPOSAL
1.2 Research aim and objectives
The aim of this research study is to explore and investigate the factors that create stress
for the caregivers and to evaluate the significance of yoga and meditation practices for reducing
the stress of the caregivers so that feasible recommendations can be provided to plan and
implement yoga and meditation programs for the caregivers to improve their mental and physical
health and efficiency.
The objectives of the research study are:
 To explore the factors causing stress to the caregivers
 To evaluate the potential options for reliving the stress of the caregivers and improve
their productivity and health
 To investigate the importance of yoga and meditation practices in reliving the stress of
the caregivers
 To provide suggestions on potential ways of implementing yoga and meditation regime to
enhance the efficiency and mental and physical health of the caregivers.
1.3 Research questions
1. What are the most common factors that cause stress to the caregivers while doing their
jobs?
2. What are the ways that can reduce the stress level of the caregivers?
3. How can yoga and meditation practices help in reducing the stress of the caregivers and
improve their mental and physical health?

3
RESEARCH PROPOSAL
1.4 Research hypothesis
H0: Yoga and meditation practices do not have any impact on reducing the stress level of the
caregivers to improve their physical and mental health
H1: Yoga and meditation practices have significant impact on reducing the stress level of the
caregivers to improve their physical and mental health
2.0 Literature review
Caregiving is a tough job, especially when it is informal. When the family members take
the responsibility of caregiving to ailing or elderly people, it becomes quite stressful sometimes
due to various factors, like lack of adequate knowledge or resources, and that often takes a toll
on the caregivers (Carlson, 2018). On the other hand, various organizations have opened up for
the caregiving services and they too face various challenges depending on the type of disease
that the patients have or their mental condition or the payment system. Hence, there are many
factors that cause stress to the caregivers and that affects their mental and physical health, and
the caregivers also need care.
Sklenarova et al. (2015) conducted a study on the family perspectives towards the cancer
patients and examined the mental health of the informal caregivers of the cancer patients and
cancer survivors. The authors found that the informal caregivers suffered from severe anxiety
and depression and they needed supportive care as their emotional wellbeing was affected
significantly from long term caregiving services. Through a cross sectional study, the authors
explored the unmet needs of the informal caregivers to the cancer patients and identified the
potential predictors of the supportive care needs for the caregivers. It was observed by
Sklenarova et al. (2015) that quite a large number of caregivers exhibited much higher anxiety in