Burden and coping among the relatives and carers of brain-injured survivors

Abstract

The relatives/carers of 23 traumatic brain injury patients were interviewed around one year after patients' discharge from postacute rehabilitation to determine the nature of the residual problems, the nature of the relatives' and carers' responses, and the strain on relatives and carers. Relatives were under very considerable strain. Some response styles were associated with increased stress, but there was little evidence for the effectiveness of positive coping strategies in reducing stress.

Caregiver strain in spouses of stroke patients

“…In this sample, stramed carers had significantly lower mood than carers who were not stramed. These findmgs lend support to other work on carer straui that has demonsttated a strong relationship between emotional cUsttess and caregiver burden or strain, both m stroke (Schohe op Rehner, 1998;Koopman-Boyden and WeUs, 1979;Mitchley et al, 1996;Draper et al, 1992) and other patient groups (Blake, 2000).…”

“…Watson et al (1991) suggest that people who demonstrate pattems of Type consensus m the Uterature is that caregiving can have detrimental effects on emotional health (Dennis et al, 1998;Greveson et al, 1991;Draper et al, 1992;Schulz et al, .1988;Cantor, 1983), which may persist even after nursing home placement or death of the patient (Bodnar and KiecohGlaser, 1994). This pattem has been found in carers of various patient groups including stroke ODennis et al, 1998), ttaumatic brain injury (Mitchley et al, 1996), Akheuner's (Haley et al, 1997) and cancer (Rabins et al, 1990), although prevalence rates of emotional difficuhies vary across patient disorders (Rabms et al, 1990). …”

Negative symptoms in the traumatically brain-injured during the first year postdischarge, and their effect on rehabilitation status, work status and family burden

“…They also completed a version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28). 13 The patients' functional status was rated using the Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS)9 and the Edinburgh Rehabilitation Status Scale (ERSS).14 The ERSS gives a more comprehensive description of function than the GOS and measures four dimensions in which change commonly occurs due to or during recovery from a disabling illness: independence, activity, social integration and the effects of symptoms on lifestyle. It comprises four subscales concerned with these dimensions and which measure respectively: frequency and extent to which patient relies on others: ability to initiate, sustain and perform purposeful activities; social integration; and effects of current symptoms on lifestyle.…”

Caregivers’ Incongruence: Emotional Strain in Caring for Persons with Stroke

“…Objective measures of caregiving demand and subjective measures of perceived caregiving strain are both important to consider when examining Rehabilitation NURSING KEY WORDS caregivers caring incongruence strain stroke quality of life correlates of caregiving (Roth et al, 2009). Studies have found a relationship between emotional distress and caregiver strain, both in stroke and other patient groups (Blake, Lincoln, & Clarke, 2003;Mitchley, Gray & Pentland, 1996;Scholte op Reimer et al, 1998). In addition, spouses who care for individuals whom they perceived as dependent in activities of daily living were more likely to experience strain (Blake et al, 2003;Scholte op Reimer et al, 1998).…”