RESUMEN
PURPOSE: Female carers of stroke survivors may experience increased risk of developing chronic health issues, such as cardiovascular disease. This study aims to understand: (i) how female carers of stroke survivors manage their mental and cardiovascular health and (ii) the characteristics they would find helpful in an intervention to support their ability to manage their health and wellbeing. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A qualitative descriptive design was used with data collected via semi-structured interviews and analysed using inductive thematic analysis. RESULTS: Eighteen female carers of stroke survivors participated in the study. Three key themes were identified: (i) struggling to prioritise own health and wellbeing; (ii) new roles and responsibilities impact on self-care; and (iii) peer-support improves mental health and well-being. Carers described preferences for group interventions to include peer support and have flexible delivery to allow easy access to information. One-to-one sessions with different health professionals may also be useful at times through the caregiving journey. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that current interventions do not address cardiovascular risk self-management for female carers and provide insight into characteristics of interventions that may increase acceptability and feasibility of interventions to support long-term cardiovascular and mental health-promoting behaviours.
Female carers of stroke survivors report poor mental health and well-being outcomes and may be at a higher risk of developing chronic health issues.Female carers report difficulty engaging in healthy lifestyle choices particularly those targeting diet and exercise and struggle to adapt to new caregiving roles and responsibilities impact on self-care.Female carers also believed that an intervention incorporating peer support, educational resources, and convenient access to health professionals in a flexible manner would support them in addressing their long-term health and well-being.
RESUMEN
PURPOSE: This systematic review aims to examine the effectiveness of non-pharmacological interventions for improving mental health outcomes among female carers of people living with a neurological condition. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A narrative synthesis of English-language randomized controlled trials was undertaken. RESULTS: 18 unique studies were included. Intervention components that were found to have improved mental health outcomes were: delivered in person, to groups, on an intermittent schedule with ≥10 sessions; had a duration between 3-6 months; and were facilitated by research staff or allied health professionals. As the review had few robust studies, results of mental health outcomes reported in studies assessed as low risk of bias were highlighted in the review. Psychoeducation interventions, cognitive behavioural interventions, and support group interventions were found to improve depression. Psychoeducation interventions were also found to improve burden. CONCLUSIONS: There is a clear need for adequately powered, high-quality randomised controlled trials to determine the effectiveness of non-pharmacological interventions for female carers of people living with a neurological condition.
Female carers experience worse mental health and well-being outcomes and are at a higher risk of developing chronic health issues compared to their male counterparts.This review identified only very few, generally small, randomised controlled trials of non-pharmacological interventions in female carers of patients with neurological conditions.Interventions that provide psychoeducation, are group-based, face-to-face, and have an intervention duration between >3 months and <6 months, may be successful in improving some mental health outcomes, such as depression and coping.