Challenges of caregivers and needs of children with parents in a Nigerian prison
Background: Separation of a parent from the family as a result of incarceration has both short-term and long-term effects on the family, even after release from prison. This study is a report of factors and challenges of the family left to adapt to the changed circumstances of separation from paren...
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Published in | Nigerian journal of paediatrics Vol. 49; no. 3; pp. 240 - 244 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
26.10.2022
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Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Background: Separation of a parent from the family as a result of incarceration has both short-term and long-term effects on the family, even after release from prison. This study is a report of factors and challenges of the family left to adapt to the changed circumstances of separation from parent(s) who are incarcerated.
Methods: This was a cross sectional study carried out on 89 care -givers of children whose parents are incarcerated at the Agodi prison, Ibadan who gave informed and written consent to interview their families.
Results: Most caregivers had little or no formal education (69.7%) and 67.4% are into petty trading or subsistence farming. A majority of the caregivers reported the need of schooling (85.4%), provision of food (84.3%) and medical care (71.9%) as major challenges, only 25% received any form of support to meet these needs. Twenty-nine (32.6%) respondents reported receiving financial support to provide for the child’s feeding. Some care-givers 21 (23.6%), obtained loans to cope with the financial needs of the children hile only 3 (3.4%) received support from family or other nongovernmental organisations.
Conclusion: The caregivers of children of prison inmates face significant challenges in meeting the needs of feeding, health and schooling. Support structures and policies to address these gaps are required. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 0302-4660 0302-4660 |
DOI: | 10.4314/njp.v49i3.2 |