MOTIVATIONAL DETERMINANTS OF CAREGIVERS AND THE ROLE OF MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAMS IN HEALTH CARE abstract

The multidisciplinary team in health care centres need to devote their energy physically, cognitively and emotionally in the service of others. Such investment can create mental weariness and exhaustion. But the number of caregiving professionals and institutions are mounting up day by day. The present study is an attempt to uncover the driving forces that help the caregivers of terminally ill patients to continue in their profession despite their mental exhaustion and physical fatigue. An in-depth interview was conducted among 25 care workers in Kerala. Thematic analysis was used to explore the motivating factors. The results identified that the caregivers were intrinsically and extrinsically motivated. The result revealed some of intrinsically motivating themes like purpose in Life, personal growth, spiritual aspects and challenges. Reinforcement in terms of appreciation and monetary reward were the major extrinsic factors that played an important role in motivating them. Findings highlight the crucial role that the multidisciplinary teams, especially social workers and psychologists can play in fostering intrinsic motivation among care workers in order to enhance their performance and reduce stress. The collaborative work of psychologists and social workers is significant to cater the emotional and psychological needs of the caregivers by allocating resources efficiently and creating a supportive environment. They should be providing holistic support and therapeutic interventions to enhance the self-esteem and subjective wellbeing of the caregiver.