rehabilitation; primary health care; occupational health; mental health; child development; occupational therapy; education; vocational rehabilitation; community-based therapy
The perceived burden of care among caregivers of survivors of cerebrovascular accident following discharge from a private rehabilitation unit.
PDF

Supplementary Files

Authors' contributions
Multiple-choice questions
Title page with authors' details

How to Cite

Serfontein, L., Visser, M., van Schalkwyk, M., & van Rooyen, C. (2019). The perceived burden of care among caregivers of survivors of cerebrovascular accident following discharge from a private rehabilitation unit. South African Journal of Occupational Therapy, 49(2), 24–32. Retrieved from https://sajot.org.za/index.php/sajot/article/view/578

Abstract

Introduction: The transition between inpatient rehabilitation and discharge of survivors of stroke from private rehabilitation services in South Africa is often challenging. After the stroke survivor is discharged, caregivers have an important role as an extension of rehabilitation, although the occupation of caregiving is often unplanned. This study investigated the factors associated with the burden of care experienced by patients' caregivers.

Methods: A quantitative descriptive study was conducted with 63 patients and 63 caregivers, using a consecutive, non-randomised sampling method. Patients' Functional Independence Measure (FIM) scores upon discharge were obtained. Telephonic interviews were conducted with the caregivers two months after the patients' discharge, using the Modified Caregiver Strain Index (MCSI) and a demographic data questionnaire to obtain their perceived burden of care.

Results. Patients' median FIM score at discharge was 86, indicating that they needed minimal assistance. After discharge, caregivers experienced minimal to moderate strain (burden of care) according to the MCSI score. The associated factors that were identified included financial, physical, psychological and social aspects, of which financial strain was encountered most regularly. Caregivers also seemed to have unbalanced occupational profiles.

Conclusions: Better caregiver training and support should be provided by private rehabilitation services for better integration of stroke survivors into the community.

Key words: cerebrovascular accident; stroke; caregivers; burden of care; private inpatient rehabilitation

 

I

PDF

 

All work is published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Non-Commercial International Creative Commons (CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0) License. Under this license, authors retain the copyright of their article and agree to make articles available to users, without permission or fees, for any lawful, non-commercial purpose. Users may read, copy, or re-use published content as long as the author(s) and original place of publication are properly cited.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.