Abstract
The purpose of this study was to measure the satisfaction of caregivers employed by service units/centers to improve the quality of life of the elderly/local governments to give care to dependent persons in the communities; and to determine the factors that influenced caregivers’ satisfaction with the employment after wage adjustment made since 2017. This was a cross-sectional study in January and February 2022. Data were collected using questionnaires from 563 caregivers who worked under the long-term care funds for dependent elderly from the north, the south, the east, the northeast, and Bangkok. Samples were selected using the simple random sampling method. Data were analyzed descriptively and the relationships between variables were tested using multiple regression analysis. The results showed that the majority of the samples were female (95.4%), age between 40 and 59 years (62.3%), worked as a caregiver for 3 to 5 years (47.2%), and had completed 70 hours of training (89.6%). Regarding employment contracts, 31.3% contracted through service units, 30.6% contracted through local governments, and 17.6% had no contracts. In terms of frequency of payment, 25.8% were paid monthly and 17.9% paid every three months. This study revealed that 48.7% of caregivers experienced late or no payment at all. In this regard, caregivers earned an average wage of 1,620 baht per month (maximum 3,054/minimum 764), but had to pay for travel to work at 214 baht per month (maximum 356/minimum 115). In terms of satisfaction with employment, 51.6% of caregivers had a high level of satisfaction, followed by 26.3% with the highest level. The factors affecting employment satisfaction were quality of work life (B = 1.433, p < 0.01), job support (B = 0.923, p < 0.01), and wages (B = 0.001, p < 0.01). Policy recommendations on wages are: wages should not be lower than the minimum wage, or wages should be increased as step ladder based on experience of the caregivers. If wages cannot be increased, travel expenses, or opportunity losses should be covered. Policies to support the work of caregivers are: equipment such as blood pressure monitors, refresh trainings to improve caregiver knowledge and practices, and caregiver uniforms or team vests, recognition badges, or symbols should be provided to caregivers for public recognition.
