title: Caregivers burden and needs in community neurorehabilitation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to analyse the burden on caregivers of chronic neurological patients taking part in community neurorehabilitation programmes, and to describe caregivers' socio-demographic features and needs.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 118 pairs of chronic neurological patients and their caregivers.
  
  
  METHODS
  Caregivers completed the Caregiver Burden Inventory, the Beck Depression Inventory, and an ad hoc socio-demographic questionnaire. The EuroQol-5D was used to measure patients' quality of life. Patients' cognitive status and functional independence status were assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination and Barthel Index, respectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Data from 105 patient-caregiver pairs were analysed. The majority of caregivers (mean age 63.01 ± 12.3 years) were women (58%); 72% were spouses/partners. The burden of care was distributed across the 5 domains of the Caregiver Burden Inventory as follows: objective burden (34%), developmental burden (25%), physical burden (22%), social burden (10%), emotional burden (9%). Care burden correlated negatively with patient's functional independence (p = 0.008) and quality of life (p = 0.000) and positively with caregiver depression (p = 0.000). Of the caregivers, 65.7% requested interventions aimed at reducing their burden.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is a need to define structured interventions for assessing, preventing or managing problems related to stressful caregiving situations across the care continuum.
authors.affiliation: Neurorehabilitation Service Majorana, Consorzio Cooperative Ri.Rei., Rome, Italy. bartolomichelangelo@gmail.com
authors.forename: Michelangelo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bartolo
authors.forename: Danila
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: De Luca
authors.forename: Mariano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Serrao
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sinforiani
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zucchella
authors.forename: Giorgio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sandrini
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D011788:Quality of Life; D012944:Social Support; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D018454:Spouses / Q000523:psychology; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000175:diagnosis; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires