Burden and modifications in life from the perspective of caregivers for patients after stroke

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: to analyze the impact that caring has on a member of the family caring for a patient after a cerebrovascular accident, correlating life modifications and mental suffering with the perceived burden. METHOD: a cross-sectional, quantitative study, undertaken in January-April 2010 in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil. RESULT: 61 individuals were investigated, monitored by three hospitals' Home Care Program. Data collection was through interviews for identifying life changes, and through the application of three scales for investigating perceived burden, mental state and mental suffering. Respectively these were the Caregiver Burden Scale (CBS), the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Self Reported Questionnaire (SRQ). The majority of the carers were female, married, and the children of the stroke patients. The average age was 48.2 years (±12.4). The most-cited life modifications referred to the daily routine, to leisure activities, and to exhaustion or tiredness. Regarding burden, the dimensions of General tension, Isolation and Disappointment stood out. It was ascertained that overload was more severe when the carer presented more symptoms of psychological distress, in the absence of a secondary carer, and when the principal carers reported perceiving changes in their bodies and health. CONCLUSION: an association between burden and the carer's mental state was not observed. Understanding the care, through analysis of the burden and of the knowledge of the biopsychosocial situation will provide support for the nurse's work in reducing the overload for family caregivers.

Minor psychiatric disorders and their associations in family caregivers of people with mental disorders

“…In their study, the prevalence of minor psychiatric disorders in individuals who had health problems was 61.7%, while in healthy individuals it was 43.9%. Other researches that have studied the implications of care in caregivers 11,12,18 also found associations between health problems and the outcome.…”

“…Other studies conducted with family caregivers 11,12,18,19 have evaluated the influence of time devoted to the care, as well as the time of diagnosis and time as a caregiver in the care implications. In general, their results show greater impairment in individuals who care for longer and those who dedicated more or all of their time to these activities, suggesting that the impact of caring are also related to the chronification of care.…”

Anxiety, Depression And Burnout Levels In Caregivers Of Stroke Patients In A Rehabilitation Hospital

“…However, in our study, most of the caregivers were not the patient's spouse or child, and in this case, there was only a single caregiver for each patient. [14] Our results Indicated that the level of depression was significantly higher in caregivers of married patients, patients with chronic diseases, and those receiving care for ≥4 months. Hung et al [13] also reported depressive symptoms in 40%-70% of caregivers of patients requiring long-term care, and 50% of them had received a diagnosis of depression.…”

Quality of life of caregivers for patients of cerebrovascular accidents: association of (socio-demographic) characteristics and burden

“…With regard to personal income (Table 4), those with higher incomes had higher scores in the areas 'mental health' (64.63) and 'vitality' (76.51). Caregivers with more advanced age are more prone to the negative impact of care, due to increased vulnerability to illness from senescence (10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23) , as well as the fact that it is women who usually accumulate various roles throughout life, both in society and in caring for the children, the spouse, and the household chores.…”

“…If there is imbalance in any one of these areas and therefore the caregiver is exposed to burden, it can significantly affect their health, well-being and quality of life (12) . In Brazil, only a few scales have been constructed or culturally adapted to assess the burden of caregivers, with one of them being the Zarit Burden Interview (11) .…”