Predictors of caregiver burden after stroke in Nigeria: Effect on psychosocial well-being

Background: Family caregivers (CGs) are critical to the care and recovery of stroke survivors (SSs), particularly in the community. However, little is known about their psychosocial well-being, especially in developing countries. In this study, we assessed CG burden, psychiatric morbidity, quality of life (QoL), and predictors of burden. Materials and Methods: We recruited 150 dyads of CGs/SSs from two outpatient clinics in Nigeria. Data were collected through sociodemographic/clinical questionnaire, the Zarit caregiver burden interview, the World Health Organization QoL-BREF, and the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview. Disability in SSs was graded with the Modified Rankin Scale. Results: Compared to CGs who were mostly females (86.7%) with a mean age of 42.8 (±12.6) years, SSs were older with a mean age of 61.6 (±12.5) years and were mainly males (62.7%). The mean CG burden score was 31.6 (±10.5) and eight in 10 CGs, 124 (82.7%) reported moderate-to-severe burden scores. Mental disorders in the form of depression and/or anxiety disorders were diagnosed in 26 (17.3%) CGs. Significant predictors of high-burden scores (P < 0.05) were incontinence in SSs, psychological symptoms in SS, worse poststroke disability, and performance of more CG tasks (B = 8.3, 4.5, 3.9, and 3.5, respectively). CGs QoL scores correlated negatively with burden scores, with medium-to-large effect sizes (r =-0.4-0.6) across QoL spheres. Conclusion: In this study, psychosocial burden in CGs was indexed by various determinants and impacted QoL negatively. Given the integral role of CGs to the care of SSs in the community, mental health services, psychosocial support programs, and stratification based on known vulnerability factors seems viable options for intervention, assessment, and planning.