Abstract
Introduction: Caring for stroke survivors may be burdensome with adverse consequences on caregivers’ physical health. This study examined the prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms and associated factors among family caregivers of stroke survivors in Nigeria. Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional study involving 90 stroke caregiver and stroke survivor dyads was conducted. Data on the participants’ demographics and post-stroke duration were obtained. Seven-day prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms among the caregivers and level of stroke survivors’ disability were respectively assessed using the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire and Modified Rankin Scale. Prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms was presented as percentages while participants’ characteristics associated with prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms were examined using inferential statistics. Results: Mean (SD) age of caregivers and stroke survivors was 33.2 (10.7) years and 58.9 (9.7) years respectively. Majority of the caregivers were females (61.1%), and children of the stroke survivors (58.9%). Prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms was 82.2%. The low back was the most affected body region (72.2%) followed by the upper back (40%) while musculoskeletal symptoms in the wrist was least prevalent (3.3%). Female caregivers, caregivers of female stroke survivors and spousal caregivers had significantly higher prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms compared to other categories of caregivers. Only 5 (5.6%) caregivers had however received any training on safe care giving methods while only 21 (28.4%) caregivers with musculoskeletal symptoms had received treatment. Conclusion: With the high prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms among family caregivers of stroke survivors, effective preventive strategies including training and education as well as timely access to treatment would be required.
Highlights
Caring for stroke survivors may be burdensome with adverse consequences on caregivers’ physical health
Inconsistent with several studies that reported a more profound impact of care giving on the psychological and social functioning and well-being of family caregivers,[8,9,13,14,17,18,19] the findings by Vincent-Onabajo et al.,[16] appear to be consistent with the well-documented effects of direct patient care, including manual patient handling tasks, on physical health. Prominent among these effects is the occurrence of musculoskeletal symptoms and discomfort which are often observed among rehabilitation professionals that engage in manual patient handling tasks such as nurses, occupational Therapists and physiotherapists.[20,21,22,23,24,25]
It may be safe to state that family caregivers of stroke survivors, especially community-dwelling stroke survivors, may be at an even higher risk of experiencing musculoskeletal symptoms compared to rehabilitation professionals when issues of the number of hours put into various caregiving tasks are considered, and the fact that they may not possess safe patient handling skills and gadgets
Summary
Caring for stroke survivors may be burdensome with adverse consequences on caregivers’ physical health. In a previous study of QoL of informal caregivers of stroke survivors in Nigeria, the physical domain of QoL was found to be most negatively affected.[16] inconsistent with several studies that reported a more profound impact of care giving on the psychological and social functioning and well-being of family caregivers,[8,9,13,14,17,18,19] the findings by Vincent-Onabajo et al.,[16] appear to be consistent with the well-documented effects of direct patient care, including manual patient handling tasks, on physical health Prominent among these effects is the occurrence of musculoskeletal symptoms and discomfort which are often observed among rehabilitation professionals that engage in manual patient handling tasks such as nurses, occupational Therapists and physiotherapists.[20,21,22,23,24,25] It may be safe to state that family caregivers of stroke survivors, especially community-dwelling stroke survivors, may be at an even higher risk of experiencing musculoskeletal symptoms compared to rehabilitation professionals when issues of the number of hours put into various caregiving tasks are considered, and the fact that they may not possess safe patient handling skills and gadgets
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