Abstract 81: Quality Of Life Trajectory In Stroke Survivors And Their Effect On Caregivers, One Year After Discharged From Rehabilitation Hospitals: A Longitudinal Study

Abstract

Introduction: A stroke survivor’s Quality of life (QOL) could be associated with the caregiver’s anxiety, depression and burden. The identification of specific trajectories in stroke survivors and their associations with caregivers’ outcomes, would be helpful for developing more tailored interventions for survivors and caregivers within the first year after the stroke onset. The aims of this study were to: identify the distinct trajectories of the stroke specific QOLs of stroke survivors discharged from rehabilitation hospitals; examine the associations between the stroke survivors’ QOL trajectories and the caregivers’ anxiety, depression and burden over time; and identify the predictors of the survivors’ QOL trajectories. Methods: This is a longitudinal, multicentre prospective study. Were recruited 415 stroke survivors and their caregivers, after the patients’ discharge from one of 20 rehabilitation hospitals located in central and southern Italy and were followed up every 3 months for 1 year. Results: Stroke survivors had similar trajectories in the physical dimensions of QOL, unlike psychological dimensions, where emerge two distinct trajectories of change in the QOL stroke survivor. The first trajectory (86%) included those who started with greater levels of QOL and improved slightly to markedly in all psychological domains, with this improvement decelerating over time. The second trajectory (14%) comprised those who started with lower overall levels of psychological QOL and experienced a linear worsening in Memory and Communication and no changes in Emotion and Participation. The impact of the distinct stroke survivors’ QOL trajectories on caregiver variables, such as burden, anxiety, and depression were examined. Caregivers experienced linear decreases in anxiety ( p < .001)during the first year post-stroke, while burden ( p = .086)and depression ( p = .057)did not significantly change over time. Conclusion: Preventing the risk factors of a stroke survivor from causing a deterioration in QOL is a fundamental role in public health. Adopting precautionary strategies, for those who present certain risk factors for survivors’ discharged from rehabilitation hospitals, could lead to an improvement in the burden and depression of the caregiver.