Caregiver Strain in Community Care

Abstract

The paper focuses on the identification of areas of strain in caregivers who, on a non-professional basis, provide care to a person with a neurological disease in a community care-based setting. The aim of the survey was to validate the nursing diagnosis Caregiver Role Strain. Through a group of experts, we found out which determining features and related factors of the aforementioned nursing diagnosis occur most often in clinical practice while caring for patients with a neurological disease. Furthermore, for assessing caregivers we used the Modified Caregiver Strain Index to find out which neurological diseases cause the greatest strain for them, and which gender and age group of caregivers are most predisposed to strain. The survey took the form of online questionnaires fromApril 2021 to September 2021. Caregiver strain occurs most often in caregivers who care for neurological patients. By analyzing the data, we came to the conclusion that the experts in our survey identified fatigue as the most important determinant. The group of experts identified the most important related factor - inexperience in providing care. Due to the demanding position of the caregiver, it is important for care providers to correctly and quickly identify potential stressors, and thus relieve the caregivers from their difficult mission