Document Type : Original Research Articles
Authors
1
Department of Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran
2
Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Department of Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran
3
Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Social determinants of Health Research Center, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran
4
Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran
10.22034/nics.2026.1.016
Abstract
Background: Two third of patients with stroke, in the first episode of stroke would be survived and need care and rehabilitation. This situation influences the patients’ survivals and the routine life of family caregivers. This study aimed at investigating the care burden of family caregivers who provided care for patients with stroke at home.
Methods: This cross-sectional study included 254 patient-caregiver pairs recruited by convenience sampling in 2019–2020. Participants were stroke patients receiving home care for at least one month and their family caregivers. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire, the Bakas Caregiving Outcomes Scale, and the 10-Item Modified Barthel Index. Data were analyzed using SPSS 17. One-way ANOVA with Tukey’s post-hoc test assessed differences in caregiver burden, and Pearson’s correlation assessed the relationship between patient functional dependency and caregiver burden.
Results: Most patients were men (51.2%), with a mean age of 69.13 ± 11.87 years and stroke duration of 25.14 ± 14.02 months. Most caregivers were women (53.1%), with a mean age of 37.94 ± 11.30 years and a caregiving duration of 25.90 ± 13.30 months. Caregiver burden was weakly associated with patients’ age (p=0.043), income (p=0.011), marital status (p<0.001), and occupation (p=0.025), as well as caregivers’ age (p=0.002) and marital status.
Conclusion: The patients and the family caregivers’ characteristics were not strong predictors of caregiver’s burden in our research. The reasons might be that the physical, cognitive and health status of the stroke survivors were not very severe. Establishing home care services, long-term care institute, empowering family caregivers by training and supporting them are essential approaches to prevent and reduce the care burden.
Implications for Patient Care: Routine assessment of caregiver burden, caregiver education, and appropriate post-discharge support may facilitate home-based care and improve continuity of care for stroke survivors and their families.
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