Abstract
Insufficient attention towards caregivers has resulted in the emergence of psychological and health complaints. Affliction tethers more towards spouses as compared to parents and females as compared to males. The role of sibling care givers was found to be no different from parents or spouses. Marital relationships were found to suffer the most, with the caregiver leaving the traumatic brain injury (TBI) patient in his time of need. The Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) and family assessment device (FAD) predicted a correlation between patient variables and caregiver discontent. The Blacks/Hispanics proved to cope better with stress and their caregiver roles as compared to Whites. Time elapsed since the injury was found to relieve distress, while the surprising severity of the injury has no recorded impact. Social support or rather a lack of it has been seen to have an impact on family homeostasis, which can further be deteriorated by substance abuse by the patient. The therapeutic intervention found to be most advantageous was the D'Zurilla and Nezu social problem-solving model. Current evidence suggests that emphasis should be given on proper education and encouragement of caregivers before discharge of TBI patients from hospital to reduce the incidence of stressors. Additionally, counseling sessions should be led by professionally led support groups for dealing with psychological symptoms and peer-led group to eliminate social insecurities of caregivers.
Highlights
BackgroundTraumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a non-degenerative, acquired insult to the brain secondary to any applied external mechanical force [1]
The results demonstrated that individuals with TBI who have the following characteristics; high distress (0.83), reduced satisfaction with life (-0.38), disability (0.62) have reduced neuropsychological functioning (-0.39), which leads to lower satisfaction with life scale (SWLS) in caregivers (=0.82), lower social provision scale (SPS) (-0.56), higher Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) (0.37), and reduced family behavioral control (0.52)
Time since injury had a considerable impact on the family homeostasis, whereas the severity of the injury was found to have no significant impact
Summary
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a non-degenerative, acquired insult to the brain secondary to any applied external mechanical force [1]. The results demonstrated that individuals with TBI who have the following characteristics; high distress (0.83), reduced satisfaction with life (-0.38), disability (0.62) have reduced neuropsychological functioning (-0.39), which leads to lower SWLS in caregivers (=0.82), lower SPS (-0.56), higher BSI (0.37), and reduced family behavioral control (0.52). In the second step of analyses, the aim of which was to measure effects of caregiver SPS on the patient’s life satisfaction and mental health, a significant interaction (SWLS P=0.006) was observed These findings strongly verify that the psychosocial health of the caregiver/ family has a reciprocal relationship with the individual who is under their care [10]. It is not an easy task to devote a substantial amount of one’s life span in the never-ending care of another individual, the caregiver deserves the utmost respect and the highest quality of care deemed necessary (Figure 3)
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