Abstract:
Appropriate adaptation of family caregivers caring for patients with stroke impacts
long-term care quality and patients health. Purpose of this study was to examine influences of
caregivers preparedness, caregivers burden, and caregivers reward on adaptation of caregivers
caring for patients with stroke. Participants were 77 family caregivers who took stroke patients to
the first follow-up visit, after discharge from a hospital, at an outpatient medicine department of
Prapokklao hospital, Chanthaburi province. They were selected by simple random sampling as
drawing lots without replacement. Data were collected by questionnaires regarding demographics,
caregivers preparedness, caregivers burden, caregivers reward, and caregivers adaptation.
Cronbachs alphas of the latter 4 questionnaires were .87, .94, .82, and .87, respectively. Data
were analyzed by descriptive statistics and standard multiple regression analysis.
Results showed that participants had adaptation at a good level (M = 129.64,
SD = 13.47). Caregivers preparedness, caregivers burden, and caregivers reward altogether
explained 46.5% of the variance in adaptation (R
2
= .465, F3,73= 21.11, p< .001). However,
variables significantly explained caregivers adaptation included caregivers burden (
= -0.58,
t = -6.27, p< .001) and caregivers preparedness (
= 0.24, t= 2.34, p= .02). But caregivers
adaptation was not significantly explained by caregivers reward (
= -0.03, t= -.31, p= .76).
Findings suggest that healthcare providers might assess caregivers preparedness and
caregivers burdenof family caregivers who care for patients with stroke before patients discharge
from hospitals. It would be useful for care planning of promoting caregivers to be appropriately
adaptive.