Psychosocial Experiences and Needs of Australian Caregivers of People with Stroke: Prognosis Messages, Caregiver Resilience, and Relationships

Background and Objective: Despite stroke being the most common form of cerebrovascular disease, there has been relatively little attention paid to the psychosocial experiences and needs of Australian caregivers of people who have had a stroke. Methods: Twenty Australian informal caregivers and 10 st...

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Main Authors: El Masry, Y., Mullan, Barbara, Hackett, M.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Thomas Land Publishers, Inc. 2013
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/9739
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author El Masry, Y.
Mullan, Barbara
Hackett, M.
author_facet El Masry, Y.
Mullan, Barbara
Hackett, M.
author_sort El Masry, Y.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Background and Objective: Despite stroke being the most common form of cerebrovascular disease, there has been relatively little attention paid to the psychosocial experiences and needs of Australian caregivers of people who have had a stroke. Methods: Twenty Australian informal caregivers and 10 stroke survivors participated in individual semi-structured qualitative interviews covering all aspects of caregiving, including stroke survivors’ views on their caregiver’s experiences. Results: The 5 interrelated topics most discussed were changes in relationships and support services, including being told to expect a poor outcome; caregiver attributes and coping strategies; stroke survivor limitations; external employment and financial stressors; and unexpected positive changes in relationships and priorities. Caring for a stroke survivor involves a complex interaction of these factors that appear to be moderated by the quality of the pre-existing stroke survivor–caregiver relationship and the poststroke coping strategies used. Conclusions: Particular attention should be paid to how prognosis is conveyed and whether appropriate outpatient services are available. Clinicians should also consider discussing appropriate caregiver coping strategies and the quality of the relationship between the stroke survivor and caregiver.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-97392017-09-13T14:51:29Z Psychosocial Experiences and Needs of Australian Caregivers of People with Stroke: Prognosis Messages, Caregiver Resilience, and Relationships El Masry, Y. Mullan, Barbara Hackett, M. stroke experiences caregivers needs relationships qualitative Background and Objective: Despite stroke being the most common form of cerebrovascular disease, there has been relatively little attention paid to the psychosocial experiences and needs of Australian caregivers of people who have had a stroke. Methods: Twenty Australian informal caregivers and 10 stroke survivors participated in individual semi-structured qualitative interviews covering all aspects of caregiving, including stroke survivors’ views on their caregiver’s experiences. Results: The 5 interrelated topics most discussed were changes in relationships and support services, including being told to expect a poor outcome; caregiver attributes and coping strategies; stroke survivor limitations; external employment and financial stressors; and unexpected positive changes in relationships and priorities. Caring for a stroke survivor involves a complex interaction of these factors that appear to be moderated by the quality of the pre-existing stroke survivor–caregiver relationship and the poststroke coping strategies used. Conclusions: Particular attention should be paid to how prognosis is conveyed and whether appropriate outpatient services are available. Clinicians should also consider discussing appropriate caregiver coping strategies and the quality of the relationship between the stroke survivor and caregiver. 2013 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/9739 10.1310/tsr2004-356 Thomas Land Publishers, Inc. restricted
spellingShingle stroke
experiences
caregivers
needs
relationships
qualitative
El Masry, Y.
Mullan, Barbara
Hackett, M.
Psychosocial Experiences and Needs of Australian Caregivers of People with Stroke: Prognosis Messages, Caregiver Resilience, and Relationships
title Psychosocial Experiences and Needs of Australian Caregivers of People with Stroke: Prognosis Messages, Caregiver Resilience, and Relationships
title_full Psychosocial Experiences and Needs of Australian Caregivers of People with Stroke: Prognosis Messages, Caregiver Resilience, and Relationships
title_fullStr Psychosocial Experiences and Needs of Australian Caregivers of People with Stroke: Prognosis Messages, Caregiver Resilience, and Relationships
title_full_unstemmed Psychosocial Experiences and Needs of Australian Caregivers of People with Stroke: Prognosis Messages, Caregiver Resilience, and Relationships
title_short Psychosocial Experiences and Needs of Australian Caregivers of People with Stroke: Prognosis Messages, Caregiver Resilience, and Relationships
title_sort psychosocial experiences and needs of australian caregivers of people with stroke: prognosis messages, caregiver resilience, and relationships
topic stroke
experiences
caregivers
needs
relationships
qualitative
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/9739