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Mental Health and Quality of Life Differences Between the Family Members and Paid Caregivers in Brain Injury

ABS TRACT Objective: In this study, physical, psychological effects and quality of life of caregivers of patients with brain injury due to stroke or trauma were evaluated; and the difference between the family members as caregivers and the paid caregivers were highlighted. Material and Methods: Fifty-four caregivers of patients were included in this cross-sectional study. Caregivers were grouped as relative group (n=43) and self-employed/employed group (n=11). Main characteristics of caregivers and patients were recorded. All caregivers completed Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and Short Form-36 (SF-36) questionnaires. Results: There was a statistically significant difference between the groups with regard to caregiving duration. In self-employed/employed group, patients were significantly older than another group (p<0.001). Gender distribution was significantly different between groups (p=0.001). Etiology, disease duration, presence of aphasia, dysphagia, feeding type, urinary incontinence, urination type and ambulation levels were similar in groups. Both anxiety and depression scores of HADS questionnaire were significantly higher in relative group. Social functioning, physical role limitation, emotional role limitation, energy, pain, and general health domains of SF-36 questionnaire were significantly lower in relative group. Conclusion: In this study, the difference between the family members as caregivers and the paid caregivers were highlighted. The affection is more, if the caregiver is a family member, and it increases in proportion to the degree of disability of the patient. It should be noted that the caregivers are an important part of rehabilitation in order not to adversely affect the rehabilitation process.