Measuring the Workload and Impact of Caring: Stroke ESD
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Measuring the Workload and Impact of Caring: Stroke Early Supported Discharge
IRAS ID
223934
Contact name
Sara Demain
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Southampton
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 10 months, 0 days
Research summary
This exploratory study aims to understand what types of tasks carers of stroke patients within the Early Supported Discharge (ESD) service undertake, how long these take and the perceived impact of these on them.
Stroke is one of the most common causes of death and disability in the UK, with 1 in 5 dependent UK stroke survivors being cared for by family and friends and up to 72% of these report feeling ill prepared to take on this role. With life expectancy rising and an increasingly ageing population, demand for care is going to increase and it is expected that a large proportion of this will be provided by family and friends; the informal care providers. This study will be conducted within a specialist stroke ESD Team who provide up to 6 weeks of intensive rehabilitation following discharge from the acute hospital setting. All primary carers providing informal care to patients who are accepted to the Stroke ESD team, who are able to provide informed consent and speak English will be eligible to take part in this study.
Two structured interviews will be conducted using the newly designed Carer Impact Questionnaire with the carers during the first six weeks following discharge from the acute hospital. The findings will be compared with existing measures of disability and carer burden, the Barthel Index and Modified Caregiver Strain Index respectively.
Research of carer burden within the area of Stroke ESD is extremely limited and so this exploratory study will provide some initial findings that will help to increase understanding of carer roles and potential burden; and may lead to development in the future of carer support tools for use within the Stroke ESD service.
REC name
South Central - Berkshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/SC/0620
Date of REC Opinion
5 Dec 2017
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion