Ann Rehabil Med.  2015 Oct;39(5):800-815. 10.5535/arm.2015.39.5.800.

A Survey of Caregivers' Knowledge About Caring for Stroke Patients

• Lee KW
• Choi SJ
• Kim SB
• Lee JH
• Lee SJ

• KMID: 2148212
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5535/arm.2015.39.5.800

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
To investigate how much formal caregivers know about caring for stroke patients, and whether they adequately provide it.
METHODS
Formal caregivers, who worked for stroke patients at 8 hospitals (including 4 university hospitals, 2 rehabilitation hospitals, and 2 convalescent hospitals) participated in this study. The survey was based on a self-report questionnaire, with 6 categories containing a total of 48 questions about the specific care of stroke patients: the demographic characteristics of the caregivers, bed positioning, the provision of meals, position changes and transfers, the range of motion exercises, and caregiver training.
RESULTS
A total of 217 caregivers were surveyed, and they were distributed as follows: 41% came from the university hospitals, 35% came from the rehabilitation hospitals, and 24% came from the convalescent hospitals. The percentages of correct answers were distributed as follows: 64.3% for bed positioning, 74.3% for providing meals, and 62.4% for position change and transfer. The total and subscale scores of the caregivers working at convalescent hospitals were significantly lower than those of the caregivers working at the other types of hospitals (p<0.05). Only 7.8% of the total participants received training on a regular basis. The caregivers obtained most of the information from caregiver associations (58.1%), and the majority of the caregivers (65.4%) were willing to receive training.
CONCLUSION
About one third (33.8%) of caregivers did not have adequate knowledge of how to properly care for stroke patients; in fact, a significant number of caregivers demonstrated inappropriate and insufficient knowledge in several areas. It is assumed that the provision of regular training, by rehabilitation experts, will improve the professionalism and knowledge of the caregivers, and positively affect patient outcomes.

Keyword

Stroke; Caregivers; Nursing care; Surveys; Education

MeSH Terms

Caregivers
Education
Exercise
Hospitals, Convalescent
Hospitals, University
Humans
Meals
Nursing Care
Range of Motion, Articular
Rehabilitation
Stroke*

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