Burden, Needs and Its Assessment Instruments in Caregivers of Stroke Survivors

Abstract

Stroke is the leading cause of death and disability in India. Because of population aging, the incidence of stroke and the population of stroke survivors in India are expected to increase accordingly. The review sought to identify different caregiving needs of stroke caregivers felt during rehabilitation of stroke patient, long term bio-psychosocial consequences in stroke caregivers and various measurement instruments for assessment of needs and burden in caregivers. Health care professional needs to be aware of demands and consequences and various available measures to assess the impacts of these needs placed on the caregivers. MEDLINE, PUBMED and CINHAL were searched from 1980 to 2001. After comprehensive literature review, caregiver’s needs, burden and concerned instruments identified with their concerned psychometric properties. Although, some further refinement in the instruments could be benefitted to health professionals in health care field. Further, more research to be conducted by using these instruments aimed at improving the demands and care of caregivers.

Keywords: Caregivers, stroke, needs, burden, review