Stroke Caregiver Empowerment (STROKE-CARE)

The purpose of this study is to refine STROKE-CARE for caregivers and explore changes in caregiver and care-recipient outcomes

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.

In STROKE-CARE, caregivers will learn a problem-solving strategy. Participants will receive approximately 10 sessions by an occupational therapist in the home over a 5 week process.

In STROKE-CARE, caregivers will learn a problem-solving strategy. They will (1) identify barriers to performance, (2) generate strategies to address barriers, and (3) apply these strategies to support care-recipients in occupations.

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