Determination of Care Preparedness and Needs of Caregivers of Stroke Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study.
Post-stroke patients need support from their caregivers to adapt to changing lifestyles. Difficulty meeting their existing needs increases the care burden and reduces the quality of care and life.
To examine the care preparedness and needs of caregivers of patients diagnosed with stroke.
A cross-sectional study design was employed. Study data were collected in the neurology units of a university hospital between January 1 and May 31, 2024 with the participation of 139 caregivers. Data were analysed using independent samples t-test, One-Way ANOVA, and multiple linear regression analyses.
The mean age of patients diagnosed with stroke was 62.87 ± 14.31 years, 64.7% were male, and 69.1% were diagnosed recently. The mean age of the caregivers was 48.40 ± 15.82 years, 61.2% were female, and the preparedness for caregiving scale means were 21.44 ± 7.22. It was found that care preparedness was associated with patient characteristics, such as age that was ≥ 65, comorbid diseases, diabetes mellitus and caregiver characteristics such as female gender and having care experience. The study showed that the presence of comorbid diseases in the patient and having difficulty in caregiving explained 13.2% of the variance in the level of caregivers' care preparedness (p = 0.001). The most common needs of caregivers during the care process were preventing falls (64.0%), patient mobility (57.6%), having information on monitoring secondary stroke symptoms (51.1%), receiving physiotherapy support (45.3%), coping with stress (40.3%), and resting (33.1%). In addition, the needs that caregivers had the most difficulty meeting were positioning, monitoring secondary stroke symptoms, understanding medical terms, management of swallowing difficulties, psychotherapy, and receiving voluntary/paid caregiver support.
The study emphasises the need for comprehensive evaluation of the care needs of post-stroke caregivers and targeted interventions specific to these needs.
To examine the care preparedness and needs of caregivers of patients diagnosed with stroke.
A cross-sectional study design was employed. Study data were collected in the neurology units of a university hospital between January 1 and May 31, 2024 with the participation of 139 caregivers. Data were analysed using independent samples t-test, One-Way ANOVA, and multiple linear regression analyses.
The mean age of patients diagnosed with stroke was 62.87 ± 14.31 years, 64.7% were male, and 69.1% were diagnosed recently. The mean age of the caregivers was 48.40 ± 15.82 years, 61.2% were female, and the preparedness for caregiving scale means were 21.44 ± 7.22. It was found that care preparedness was associated with patient characteristics, such as age that was ≥ 65, comorbid diseases, diabetes mellitus and caregiver characteristics such as female gender and having care experience. The study showed that the presence of comorbid diseases in the patient and having difficulty in caregiving explained 13.2% of the variance in the level of caregivers' care preparedness (p = 0.001). The most common needs of caregivers during the care process were preventing falls (64.0%), patient mobility (57.6%), having information on monitoring secondary stroke symptoms (51.1%), receiving physiotherapy support (45.3%), coping with stress (40.3%), and resting (33.1%). In addition, the needs that caregivers had the most difficulty meeting were positioning, monitoring secondary stroke symptoms, understanding medical terms, management of swallowing difficulties, psychotherapy, and receiving voluntary/paid caregiver support.
The study emphasises the need for comprehensive evaluation of the care needs of post-stroke caregivers and targeted interventions specific to these needs.