Stroke Caregiver Empowerment

Individuals with disabilities rely heavily on unpaid family caregivers to help perform necessary occupations. The emotional and physical demands of caregiving often contribute to caregivers experiencing burden. Caregivers with burden are at-risk for poor health and a heightened risk of mortality. This is likely, in turn, to negatively impact care-recipient quality of life. The proposed study refines a behavioral intervention that teaches caregivers to facilitate problem solving over the course of daily activities. The long-term goal for this project is to establish an effective rehabilitation intervention that promotes caregiver health and well-being, which ultimately influences care-recipient health. This study will use an open-case series and a single-arm clinical trial to refine the intervention and examine caregiver and care-recipient response to the intervention. This research applies to the priorities and objectives of this research initiative through examination of a caregiver-centered, standardized intervention that is based on occupational theories and principles, investigating outcomes experienced by caregivers of individuals with cognitive deficits after stroke. Data from this pilot project will be used to design and obtain federal funding for a randomized controlled trial to examine the efficacy of the refined intervention on caregiver and care-recipient health outcomes.

Inclusion criteria

• 18 years or older
• Primary caregiver for an individual post-stroke
• Live with the care-recipient
• Provide 1 hour of caregiving per day
• Subjective caregiver burden

Exclusion criteria

• non-English speaking
• Active treatment (chemotherapy, radiation therapy) for cancer
• Imminent placement of care-recipient into a nursing home or with another caregiver (within 6 months)
• Involvement in another clinical trial for caregivers