Abstract:
This study sought to determine the public perception of self-efficacy of the older people to take care of
themselves. It was also intended to determine the factors influencing the uptake of formal care services in
Kenya. The study engaged 400 respondents from Nakuru County, who were selected through purposive and
stratified random sampling. Data was collected using questionnaires and in-depth interviews. The results reveal
that indeed the level of awareness of the existence of the formal care services in Kenya is very low and that
majority of the interviewed respondents were reluctant to enrol their relatives to the formal care homes. The
result further indicates that health and the psychosocial status of the older people influence the decision of the
members of the community interviewed to enrol the older relatives in formal care homes. It emerged from the
results that the majority of the people declined the use of the services despite agreeing that their older relatives
faced challenges that would warrant their enrolment for the services. We, therefore, recommend that a
marketing plan for the services to be designed with an inherent system societal perception re-engineering so
that a positive attitude towards services be formed. Psychosocial therapy provision should also be a key service
of the care services since it emerged that older people suffering neglect and abuse were the most likely to be
enrolled where there’s the availability of services.
