Desrosiers, Johanne

This longitudinal mixed-method study examined the types of help provided by caregivers to optimize participation of older adults with cognitive deficits post-stroke (care recipients), and how these types of help varied with caregiver's burden. Twelve family caregivers of care recipients post-stroke completed a burden questionnaire and semi-structured interviews one month, three months, and six months following care recipient's discharge home from acute care, rehabilitation, or day hospital. Care recipients completed cognitive tests and a social participation questionnaire.

Research on family caregivers usually focuses more on stress and burden, especially in the context of looking after a person with dementia. This leads to fewer considerations of positive aspects of care giving. Thus enhancing these positive aspects represents an innovative approach to caregivers' support. Furthermore, these aspects need more conceptualisation to underpin the development of such an approach. This article proposes a conceptual framework of the positive aspects of care giving based on an integrative literature review.