Determinants of Health Promotion Behaviors among Family Caregivers of Stroke Survivors

Abstract

Purpose:To record the health promotion behaviors of family caregivers of stroke survivors, as well as potential determinants that could affect these behaviors. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out through home visits in the Attica region using the convenience sampling method. The studied population included 109 survivors who had suffered a stroke and experienced functional problems, and their 109 primary caregivers, who were family members, lived in the same house and were fully responsible for their care. The dependent variables were the caregivers’ health promotion behaviors, while the independent variables were the survivors and caregivers’ demographic characteristics, survivors’ functional capacity, depression, social support and changes in caregivers’ lives from caring. Results: Better health promotional behaviors were associated with the following: patient having advanced age and a high level of functionality, caregivers assessing their own state of health as “good”, greater social support, a higher educational level and a higher income level. In addition, more hours of patient care were associated with a less healthy lifestyle for caregivers. Conclusions: Promoting the health of family caregivers of stroke survivors is crucial for both survivors and caregivers. For this reason, it is of great importance to detect factors that affect the health promotion behaviors of caregivers in order to carry out appropriate interventions and improve their quality of life.

The Effects of Patients’ and Caregivers’ Characteristics on the Burden of Families Caring for Stroke Survivors

“…This may explain our finding that the caregiver burden was greater in households with many members, where those remaining at home would be obliged to take on more duties. A recent Greek study found that caregivers downplay the importance of their personal health when taking on intensive care roles [ 33 ], further exacerbating the burden they experience.…”

Mobile Health Application to Support Family Caregivers in Recurrent Stroke Prevention: Scoping Review

“…Therefore, role of family caregivers is very important in helping stroke patients to manage risk factors [8], [10], [11]. Family support has a very significant effect on risk factors control and lifestyle changing of stroke patients in preventing recurrent stroke [12], [13], [14], [15], [16]. Family caregivers roles include identifying signs and symptoms of recurrent stroke [17], [18], assessing risk factors [18], managing hypertension, physical activity [12], [14], [16], medication, healthy diet [12], [13], [19], [20], smoking cessation and alcohol [12], [14], and helping control to health services [12], [19].…”

Stroke Family Caregiver Life Changes From the COVID-19 Pandemic

“… 6 , 7 During the pandemic, Paletz 22 offered several strategies, such as telephone- and mailed-focused educational interventions, which was also supported by Bakas et al 5 , 14 Within the emerging literature, especially during a pandemic, social support and connectedness served as a strong predictor of caregivers' quality of life and health promotion activities. 21 , 23 – 25 In this study, 58% of caregivers indicated their perceived financial status was “comfortable,” which suggests these family caregivers may have had more access to resources that could enable more positive outcomes. However, other caregivers may have struggled financially and did not have had access to such resources.…”