Effects of Respite Care in Relieving Pressure on Family Caregivers of Stroke Inpatients

Objective To evaluate the effects of respite care intervention in alleviating stress of family caregivers of stroke inpatients.Methods From December 2010 to May 2011,64 family caregivers of stroke inpatients in the hospital were randomly divided into two groups.The control group received the traditional model of care concerning prehospital education on diet,medication and safety with no alternative care volunteers or other personnel,and the experimental group received the respite care,including systematic education and skill training on nursing care for the patients and family caregivers with alternative care volunteers or other personnel.The family caregivers in both group were investigated on their stress using caregiver strain index(CSI)at admission and discharge and on their satisfaction at discharge.Results The CSI scores of the family caregivers were significantly lower at discharge than at admission(P0.05).There was significant difference on CSI score of the family caregivers at discharge(P0.05).When the patients were discharged,the family caregivers(CSI score≥7) accounted for 9.4%,which was significantly lower than that(37.5%)(P0.05);significant differences were also detected on the cores of physical,social and psychological dimensions(P0.05).The satisfaction score of caregivers in the experimental group was 88.52±4.21,which was significantly higher than that in the control group(P0.05).Conclusion Respite care:provides patients and their caregivers a personalized and comprehensive care,which can reduce the caregiver's physical and mental load as well as improve the health care satisfaction.