Effect of education on anxiety, depression and burden among caregivers of stroke patients: An experimental study

Stroke is a major contributor to long-term and debilitating neurological impairments, impacting a significant portion of stroke survivors. Stroke causes physical and mental disabilities, as well as dependence on one’s family who are often ill-equipped for the demands of caregiving. In such cases, the families suffer from severe crisis and anxiety due to the unexpected incidence of the disease and unawareness of the associated consequences.

Caregivers face emotional and physical issues due to a lack of knowledge of the conditions, duration of the hospitalization, financial burden, and demand. Existing literature states that there is a high prevalence of depression and anxiety symptoms among caregivers of stroke survivors, which were 40.2% and 21.4%, respectively. Both anxiety and depression were positively correlated with the total care burden score. Previous studies suggest that appropriate home care guidance and education, counselling, and social support should be provided to caregivers to reduce their

physical and mental burden.

This study is designed to help create awareness and better understanding regarding anxiety, depression, caregiver burden, and also the caregiving process and importance of physiotherapy to take better care of the stroke survivor and caregiver through caregiver education in the future.