Thai stroke patient caregivers: who they are and what they need.
OBJECTIVE
Primary informal caregivers play a significant role in providing care to stroke survivors after having been discharged from the hospital. Our aims were to describe the characteristics of Thai stroke caregivers and to explore their needs while providing care to their stroke relatives.


METHODS
Using open-ended questions, we individually interviewed 20 caregivers of stroke survivors to identify their characteristics and their own needs. Additional field notes were made during all interviews.


RESULTS
Our findings revealed that the majority of Thai informal stroke caregivers in this study were female, mostly daughters, with the exception of 2 Thai primary stroke caregivers found to be nieces. The majority of caregivers provided care to their stroke relatives 24 h per day. The four major categories of informal rehabilitation were: physical, psychological, social, and spiritual rehabilitation activities. Assistance, information and social support were the three main needs of the caregivers.


CONCLUSIONS
Based on these findings, appropriate nursing information and assistance focusing on rehabilitation and stroke caregivers' needs should be provided to Thai stroke caregivers performing informal care to ensure that both patients and caregivers have the best possible quality of life.
Jullamate
Pornchai
P
ICBAS - Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
de Azeredo
Zaida
Z
Pául
Constança
C
Subgranon
Rachaneeporn
R
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D044466:Asian People / Q000523:psychology*; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D005190:Family / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020380:Needs Assessment; D012944:Social Support; D020521:Stroke / Q000628:therapy*; D013785:Thailand