Article

OBJECTIVE: To explore and describe persons with stroke and their caregivers'
restrictions in participation in everyday occupations, i.e. occupational gaps,
3-6 months post-stroke, in relation to life satisfaction, combined life
satisfaction, care-giver burden, perceived impact of stroke, and activities of
daily living. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study.
SUBJECTS: Persons with stroke and
their caregivers (105 dyads). METHODS: The Occupational Gaps Questionnaire, Life
Satisfaction Checklist, Caregiver Burden Scale, Stroke Impact Scale and Barthel
Index were used. Correlations were analysed with Spearman's rank, and regression
analyses used life satisfaction as the dependent variable.
RESULTS: At least one
person in 86% of the dyads perceived restrictions in participation, with the most
common gap in travelling for pleasure. Correlations were low between the numbers
of occupational gaps and life satisfaction (R = -0.33, R = -0.31); however, life
satisfaction accounted for occupational gaps both for persons with stroke and for
caregivers. A greater number of occupational gaps were perceived in the dyads
with combined low levels of life satisfaction compared with those with combined
high levels of life satisfaction. CONCLUSION: Participation in everyday
occupations is related to life satisfaction even for caregivers of persons with
stroke. The results of this study add to our knowledge about the stroke-caregiver dyad and will help to inform family-centred approaches within stroke rehabilitation.

Langue : ANGLAIS