Journal of Associated Medical Sciences (Jan 2018)
Occupations after Stroke in Stroke Survivors’ and Their Family Caregivers’ Perception: Similarities or differences?
Abstract
Background: Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Stroke survivors have to adapt to a life with restrictions on activities of daily living as a consequence of stroke. In Thai culture, family members generally take responsibility in providing help, care, and support to stroke survivors. Being family caregivers has been reported to be a burden. To equip families to promote better quality of life in stroke survivors in Thailand, an investigation of stroke survivors’ and their family caregivers’ perception on occupational performance after stroke is required. Objectives: To examine and compare the perception among stroke survivors and their family caregivers on occupational performance of stroke survivors. Materials and methods: Thirty stroke survivors living in the communities and their primary caregivers were recruited for the study. The 4th Edition Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) was used to assess stroke survivors’ self-perception on occupations. They were asked to identify a maximum of five activities that caused difficulty to stroke participants. Stroke participants’ performance and satisfaction of the reported activities were rated on a scale. The identified problems, and rated scores of performance and satisfaction were compared between two groups using Fisher’s exact test and Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results: After stroke, participants had difficulty performing occupations by themselves, especially in the area of self-care which included personal care, functional mobility, and community management. When comparing the individual pairs, most activities were reported differently. Only 46 activities out of 157 activities (29.3%) were identified by both groups. Their perceptions on performance, and satisfaction scores of the same activities were not statistically different. The results of the study indicated that there were some similarities and discrepancies between the perceptions of the stroke participants and their caregivers on occupations after stroke even though they had close relationship. Conclusion: For better quality of life among stroke survivors in Thai culture, occupational therapists need to use the client-centered approach focusing on both stroke survivors and their family caregivers in promoting a deeper understanding of stroke survivors’ needs of care, what activity they cannot do by themselves and to what extent assistance is required.
