Saowapha Prawtaku. A comparison of needs for helps and caregiver role strain among spouse, children and sibling's caregivers of patients with stroke . Master's Degree(Adult Nursing). Mahidol University. : Mahidol University, 2006.
A comparison of needs for helps and caregiver role strain among spouse, children and sibling's caregivers of patients with stroke
Abstract:
This study was cross-sectional descriptive research which aimed at comparing the
needs for help and the level of role strain of family caregivers who were spouses, children, or
siblings of the stroke patients. The conceptual framework of the study was based on the Role
Theory proposed by George Herbert Mead. The sample was divided into three groups, each
consisting of 52 subjects, totaling 156 subjects, who were spouses, children, or siblings of the
stroke patients and who provided care to the patients at home during the first six months after
hospital discharge. The sample took the stroke patients to the examinations and follow-ups at
two tertiary hospitals in the north. Data were collected by means of the interviews based on
the demographic characteristics questionnaire, the caregiver role strain questionnaire, and the
needs for help of stroke patient caregivers questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and ANOVA
were used to analyze the data.
The majority of the sample were female, and the main reason for their
caregiving was the love and attachment they had for the patients. Some of them had
their own health problems before performing caregiving duties (25%, 17.3%, and
28.8%, respectively). The most important health problems were hypertension,
diabetes mellitus, and heart disease. In addition, a number of spouses, children, and
sibling caregivers developed health problems after they began their caregiving role
(50%, 30.8%, and 34.6%, respectively), especially muscle pain, headache, and
insomnia. On average, the spouse, children, and sibling caregivers spent 18.34 hours,
15.58 hours, and 17.02 hours, respectively, to take care of the patients in each day. In
addition, the three groups of caregivers had a rather low level of overall role strain,
and the differences in the levels of there role strain were statistically significant (p
= .011). Finally, the three groups of caregivers had a moderate level of overall needs
for help, but the spouse caregivers had a higher level of spiritual needs when
compared to those who were children and siblings of the patients with statistical
significance (p = .041).
Based on these findings, it is recommended that nurses must be aware of the
caregivers’ spiritual needs and their role strain, especially among caregivers who are
spouses of the stroke patients. Nurses should prepare the caregivers’ readiness for
caregiving duties before hospital discharge, and continuous assistance should be given
to increase caregivers’ potential to enable them to effectively provide care to the stroke
patients.