Caregivers' Burden in patients with acute stroke / 재활간호학회지

During acute stages of hospitalized stroke patients, family caregivers face many challenges. They often experience emotional distress. social isolation. and financial constraints. However. the burden of caregiving of stroke patients in acute stages has never been studied properly. The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors related to the caregivers' burden with acute stroke. The subjects were 123 acute stroke patients and their caregivers who were admitted to neurology and neurosurgery units at Dan Kook University Hospital in Chung-Nam area. An interview was performed with the use of standardized questionnaire which included data pertaining to the patients/caregivers characteristics, caregiver burden (Modified Zarit's Burden Scale), and social support (Fersonal Resource Questionnaire). Our results showed that the mean burden score was 3,11. indicating high level of burden, Among the sub-domain scores, financial burder was the highest, In univariate analysis, the factors related to caregiver burdens were: inability to communicate between patients and caregiver (p<.001): low cognitive function of the patients(p<.001): low level of ADL(p<.001), the gender of caregiver(p<.001) the current employment status of caregivers(p<.01) the presence of social support for caregiver(p<.001), and the availability of alternative caregivers (p<.001). In multiple regression analysis, social support for family caregivers (87%), low level of patient's cognition (2%), availability of 2nd caregiver (1%). and gender of caregiver (female, 0,4%) were significant explanatory factors of overall burden, The caregivers' burden in acute stages during hospitalization following stroke was high, Recognition of high levels of caregivers' burden and those relating factors affecting caregiver burden may allow us to develop different nursing strategies to unload the level of burden for caregivers in acute stages of stroke.

Time Interval between the Recognition of Dementia Symptom and the First Hospital Visit in Alzheimer's Disease

No abstract available.

Compulsive Behaviors and Presenting Symptoms of Frontotemporal Dementia

BACKGROUND: It is not uncommon to misdiagnose frontotemporal dementia (FTD) because it presents with alterations in personality and behavior rather than cognitive decline. Since compulsive behavior is one of the common early manifestations of FTD, analysis of compulsive behaviors, together with presenting symptoms, would help diagnose FTD in its early stage. METHODS: Subjects consisted of 25 patients (5 men and 20 women with mean age of 56 +/-9 years) who met the FTD criteria proposed by the Lund and Manchester group. We analyzed their presenting symptoms and compulsive behaviors retrospectively. RESULTS: The presenting symptoms were variable, including inappropriate judgement, loss of spontaneity, memory disturbance, personality change, apathy, repetitive movements, hypersexuality, and parsimony. Twenty-two out of the 25 patients (88%) showed compulsive behaviors. They included reading signboards, stereotypy of speech, ordering, hoarding, washing, checking, counting, singing, and wandering a fixed route. CONCLUSIONS: Compulsive behaviors are commonly associated with FTD and thereby understanding of these symptoms together with presenting symptoms may help diagnose FTD early and minimize the misdiagnosis of FTD for Alzheimer's disease or other psychiatric illnesses.

A Longitudinal Study on the Burdens of Caregivers in Families with Stroke Patients / 성인간호학회지

This longitudinal study examines the burdens and related factors for stroke patient's primary family caregivers. Sixty-one patients treated for stroke at a general hospital in Chung-nam province and family member caregivers participated in this study from July 28, 1998 to August 1, 1999. Family caregivers' burdens were assessed by the burden scale originally developed by Zarit(1980) and Novak &Geust(1989) and modified by Oh's(1993) for use in Korea. The burden scale instrument consists of five subscales.: financial burden, social burden, physical burden, dependency burden, and emotional burden. Repeated ANOVA and Stepwise multiple regression were used in the data analyses. The results were as follows: The burden mean score was 3.23 in the hospital, 3.26 after hospital release, and 3.27 in the home environment. In the hospital, a patient's degree of cognition, and social support for family caregivers were significant factors affecting the sense of burden felt by family caregivers. After hospital release, the significant factors affecting the sense of burden were the degree to which stroke patients could participate in daily living activities, social support for family caregivers, and changing to a second caregiver. In the home environment, the most significant factor affecting the sense of burden was social support for family caregivers.