Understanding correlates of fear of falling among older Vietnamese people contributes to healthcare professionals' ability to develop effective cross-cultural and culture-specific interventions to reduce older people's fear of falling and to improve quality of life.

Background and Purposes: Primary informal caregivers play a significant role in providing care to stroke survivors after having been discharged from the hospital. Our aims were to describe the characteristics of Thai stroke caregivers and to explore their needs while providing care to their stroke relatives. Methods: Using open-ended questions, we individually interviewed 20 caregivers of stroke survivors to identify their characteristics and their own needs. Additional field notes were made during all interviews. Results: Our findings revealed that the majority of Thai informal stroke caregivers in this study were female, mostly daughters, with the exception of 2 Thai primary stroke caregivers found to be nieces. The majority of caregivers provided care to their stroke relatives 24 h per day. The four major categories of informal rehabilitation were: physical, psychological, social, and spiritual rehabilitation activities. Assistance, information and social support were the three main needs of the caregivers. Conclusion: Based on these findings, appropriate nursing information and assistance focusing on rehabilitation and stroke caregivers’ needs should be provided to Thai stroke caregivers performing informal care to ensure that both patients and caregivers have the best possible quality of life.

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Our aim was to explore the informal rehabilitation activities performed by Thai caregivers for stroke survivors at home. Twenty primary informal caregivers were individually interviewed, using semi-structured questions developed by researchers, to investigate the informal rehabilitation activities provided for the stroke survivors at their homes. All interviews were audiotape recorded and some pictures of rehabilitation activities were taken during data collection. The data collected underwent content analysis. Findings revealed three major categories of rehabilitation activities - biological, psychological and social rehabilitation. Biological rehabilitation was the most frequently undertaken by all Thai caregivers. Several methods were used to rehabilitate the stroke survivors in each category, based on the scientific background and cultural beliefs of the caregivers and survivors. In conclusion, informal caregivers always have in mind all activities, thus providing a holistic approach for informal rehabilitation. This plays a very significant role in minimizing residual disabilities, preventing related complications and sustaining the well-being of stroke survivors. Health professionals should motivate caregivers of stroke survivors to maintain informal rehabilitation activity at home. Additionally, health care providers should be concerned about the coordination between institutional and informal rehabilitation in order to better optimize the quality of care provided at home.

The aim of this study was to identify the reasons for the provision of informal rehabilitation services at home to stroke relatives by Thai caregivers. Twenty primary informal caregivers were individually interviewed at their homes by using semistructured questions elaborated by the researchers. All interviews were recorded on audiotape. Content analysis was used to determine the reasons for performing informal rehabilitation. Four major reasons, (i) biological, (ii) psychological, (iii) social, and (iv) spiritual, emerged from our content analysis to maintain for the stroke victims the highest possible quality of life. Improvement and prevention of further deterioration were the two main concepts in the biological and psychological reasons expressed by these Thai caregivers, whereas maintaining human relations and usual social activities were the two main considerations in the social reason. The main concepts in the spiritual reason were respecting the religious beliefs, superstitions, and culture of the caregivers or patients, improving patients' empowerment, and improving caregivers' satisfaction. These four reasons encompassed the biological, psychological, social, and spiritual aspects of a holistic approach to the definition of health. The health professional in Thailand should encourage stroke caregivers to continue providing informal rehabilitation services for their stroke relatives, as it might sustain the well being of stroke survivors during their stay at home.