Psychological Issues on Family Caregivers of Stroke Patients in Brunei Darussalam: In the Era of Pandemic Covid-19

Abstract

Family caregivers play an important role in providing main support for family members with a disability in order for them to function normally in their everyday life. The main goal of this research study is to promote psychological health awareness of stroke family caregivers in Brunei Darussalam, especially during the pandemic of Covid-19. This study concentrated particularly on long-term family caregivers who provide care to stroke family members who were severely affected by the disease that caused them to heavily depended on their family caretakers. This qualitative research involves interviewing 8 locals participants using snowballing sampling and a thematic analysis approach that investigate thoroughly the challenges and identifies the needs required by family caregivers in Brunei. The findings of the study discovered that all family caregivers experience psychological issues such as ‘Depression’ and ‘Stress’ and are in need of family support and self-care to reduce challenges they experience such as emotional exhaustion, physical problem, sleep deprivation, financial issues, and accessibility to basic needs in caregiving.

The Association between Sleep Quality and Depressive Symptoms among Stroke Survivors and Caregivers

“…This finding was lower compared to a previous prospective longitudinal study where 30% of people exhibited at least mild depression symptoms at both the baseline and follow-up [ 19 ]. Another qualitative descriptive study revealed that, in addition to psychological distress, caregivers also face other difficulties, such as sleep deprivation [ 20 ].…”

“…According to a previous study, all family caregivers deal with psychological problems such as stress and depression. The study also discovered that caregivers face a variety of difficulties, such as sleep deprivation, financial difficulties, a lack of a support structure, intense caring, and over-dependence [ 20 ]. Another research study revealed a substantial relationship between caregivers’ poor sleep quality and an increased burden ( p = 0.004) and psychological distress ( p = 0.004) [ 21 ].…”