[Needs of the family caregivers of stroke survivors in the home: structured review of the literature from 2000 to 2007].
OBJECTIVE
To perform a structured review of the literature from 2000 to 2007 on the needs of the caregivers of stroke survivors in the postacute phase of the illness process at home.


METHODS
Searches were conducted in the CINAHL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PSYCHINFO, Cochrane Library Plus, CDSR (coch), DARE, CCTR, ACP Journal Club (ACP), IBECS, LILACS and IME databases using the terms "stroke", "caregiver" and "needs (assessment)".


RESULTS
We selected 270 abstracts for review. Of these, only 53 met the inclusion criteria and just 12 achieved preestablished quality standards. Despite wide variability among the selected studies, the literature reviewed revealed that the two most prevalent needs for the caregivers of stroke survivors were information and support in the development of caregiving skills. Care for the caregiver herself, as well as the development and provision of support services, were defined as the two main areas where these participants seem to need support while adapting to and performing this newly adopted role.


CONCLUSIONS
The studies reviewed show an increasing demand for support and care for stroke survivors' caregivers. Because of the highly diverse contexts of these studies, the lack of an explicit definition on the concept of "need", and the wide heterogeneity in caregivers' situations, summarizing the results of these studies is difficult. New studies are required in our context that take these limitations into account and try to overcome them.
Vidal-Thomàs
M C
MC
Gabinete Técnico de la Gerencia de Atención Primaria de Mallorca, Servicio de Salud Illes Barlears, Palma de Mallorca, España. mcvidal@ibsalut.caib.es
Alorda-Terrasa
C
C
Adrover-Barceló
R M
RM
Ripoll-Amengual
J
J
Taltavull-Aparicio
J M
JM
de Ormijana-Hernández
A Sáenz
AS
D017028:Caregivers; D005190:Family; D006701:Home Nursing; D006801:Humans; D020521:Stroke / Q000451:nursing*; D017741:Survivors