Abstract Content:
Background: Severe stroke survivors’ (Barthel Index score < 60) family caregivers often receive insufficient preparation before discharge. As a result, they are often unable to manage the complex care situations at home and cause their stroke survivors frequently re-hospitalized or institutionalized.
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the needs of Taiwanese family caregivers of severe stroke survivors before discharge and what their expected needs after discharge were.
Method: A descriptive qualitative study design was used to collect and analyze data. Sixteen family caregivers of 14 severe stroke survivors each had 1-1.5 hours of face-to-face interview before discharge, during August to November, 2014.
Findings: In hospital, caregivers experienced 11 caregiving needs, mainly on helping their stroke survivors’ daily life activities. Learning how to safely transfer and to appropriately change and position their stroke survivors were two main needs. The first skill they needed to learn was diaper changing and the most difficult skill to learn and perform was tube feeding. Caregivers expected 19 caregiving needs after discharge. Setting an easy operating care environment at home, including a hospital bed and barrier-free bathroom and toilet; bathing their stroke survivors in bathroom instead of on bed; and being able to prepare suitable food for their stroke survivors were the priorities.
Recommendations: In order to provide a proper preparation for caregivers, it is highly recommended to develop an effective assessment tools to discover what caregivers really needs. Also, the government and hospital should offer more in-home health care services to ensure caregiving quality at home.
