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It is reported that the thesis section is available, to publish abstracts of postgraduate theses in the disciplinary field. Who submits your thesis, must present the title, abstract, key words (include Occupational Therapy), and a summary of 2 to 3 pages of your thesis. And `present it in Spanish, English and / or Portuguese.
Impact of early intervention for stroke caregivers. A pilot study.
Abstract
Background: Caregivers of ischemic stoke damaged patients feels during the first months after the event a lack of information on how to help their relative, affecting the sense of stress and anxiety. We made an intervention to caregivers of the stroke unit of the University of Chile Hospital, in 2008.
Objective: Determine whether the intervention to caregivers of stroke damaged patients is a protective factor in their emotional state and stress on caregivers.
Subjects and methods: Direct healthy caregivers were recruited with a severe impaired family member within the hospitalization period. Intervention was conducted in 4 sessions, 3 during the hospital period and 1 in his home within the first month after discharge, where the issues discussed with caregiver was self-care and patient management. To measure the intervention we evaluated before the workshop and 2 months after the last session with some standardized tests (Zarit, Caregiver Stress Index) and anxiety (Goldberg).
Results: After the intervention there was a significant 20% reduction in the number of caregivers with depression (p=0.036) and 37% in the number of caregivers with anxiety (p=0.034.). There was also a significant decrease in the score of caregiver's emotional overload measured by the Zarit scale (p=0.044).
Conclusions: The intervention evaluated in this pilot study appears to be an effective measure in reducing the emotional overload and anxiety of the caregiver, with an evident improvement in their mood.
