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.