ASSESSMENT OF CAREGIVER'S BURDEN AFTER STROKE AT THE BRAZZAVILLE UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL

Introduction Stroke is the leading cause of acquired disability in adults and the second leading cause of dementia. After the hospitalization phase, the return to the patient's home is closely linked to the caregiver's burden. The aim of our study was to assess the burden of the primary caregiver of stroke patients after returning home. Method This was a longitudinal study carried out from 1st October 2014 to 30th September 2015 at the university hospital of Brazzaville. All patients hospitalized for a first stroke confirmed by brain imaging and returned to their homes were included. All patients with a modified Rankin Scale >= 2 prior to hospitalization were not included. The Zarit scale was used to assess the caregiver's burden. The other variables studied included socio-demographic data from patients and caregivers, the psychological and physical impact of patients' vascular hemiplegia, assessed respectively by abbreviated Beck's questionnaire and the Barthel index. The SPSS 21 software was used for statistical analysis. The significance threshold was set at 0.05. Results The study included 70 patients with a mean age of 55.4 +/- 11.49 years, with a sex ratio of 1.12. The primary caregiver was represented by a descendant in 44.5%. The mean age of caregivers was 41.4 +/- 11.9 years, significantly lower than that of the patients (p <0.001). The average Zarit score was 44.8 +/- 10.6; 36.4 +/- 12.1 and 27.2 +/- 13.8 respectively at one, three and six months of follow-up. The caregiver burden improved over time, with an average change in the Zarit score between the first and the sixth month of statistically significant follow-up of -17.6 +/- 8.16 (p <0.001). Patient age "over 65 years", "spousal" lifestyle, and "haemorrhagic" stroke were identified as factors associated with the caregiver's burden. Conclusion The burden of neurological disability after a stroke on the primary caregiver improves as the course progresses, with improved functional autonomy and improved patient mood. It is necessary to include this data in the therapeutic education of caregivers in the context of comprehensive care for stroke patients.