Caregiver burden and emotional problems in partners of stroke patients at two months and one year post-stroke: Determinants and prediction

• Many partners suffered from high levels of burden, anxiety and depressive symptoms.
• Partners’ anxiety, but not burden and depressive symptoms, decreased between two months and one year.
• Proactive coping, self-efficacy, relationship satisfaction and everyday support were determinants of partner outcomes.
• Partner outcomes, i.e. burden, anxiety and depressive symptoms, at one year post-stroke could be predicted in the sub-acute phase.
• Strongest predictors of partner outcomes were the levels of partner burden, anxiety and depressive symptoms at two months post-stroke.

Objectives(a) To determine levels of and factors explaining partners’ burden, anxiety and depressive symptoms at two months post-stroke, (b) to predict partners’ burden, anxiety and depressive symptoms at one year post-stroke based on patient and partner characteristics available at two months post-stroke.MethodsProspective cohort study. Partners of stroke patients (N = 183) were included. Main outcome measures were the Caregiver Strain Index and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale.ResultsMany partners experienced high burden, anxiety and depressive symptoms. At two months post-stroke, these outcomes were associated with the partner variables: age, relationship satisfaction, pro-active coping, self-efficacy, everyday social support, burden, anxiety and depressive symptoms; and the patient variables: stroke severity and depressive symptoms.Partner outcomes at one year post-stroke were mainly predicted by the level of these outcomes at two months post-stroke.ConclusionsPartner outcomes at two months post-stroke predict to a large degree partner outcomes at one year post-stroke.Practice implicationsMeasuring partners’ burden and anxiety and depressive symptoms in the post-acute phase is recommended to trace partners at risk of long-term burden and emotional problems.