MedifocusHealth

The caregiver for a stroke survivor, whether a family member or not, holds a position of great significance since they play a key role in many dimensions of the patients "new" life, such as food preparation and nutrition, medications, rehabilitation, social activities, and serving as a liaison with the family and the medical/rehabilitation staff. It is important for the caregiver to know in detail what their job will entail and, therefore, it is important for the caregiver to participate in meetings with members of the rehabilitation team who can explain and answer specific questions from both the patient and the caregiver.

Some of the tasks the caregiver will need to perform include:

• Understand the safety factors involved in caring for the stroke survivor
• Understand the physical and emotional needs of the survivor
• Understand all treatment plans and make sure the patient takes all medications, rests, does assigned exercises.
• Help the patient practice skills learned in rehabilitation
• Help the patient with personal care
• Help the patient communicate with others
• Help the patient become involved in social activities
• Become comfortable with the responsibilities involved in caring for a patient
• Know who to call with any questions
• Make sure the patient goes to all appointments

Caregiving is very demanding and can take a physical and emotional toll on the caregiver if they do not receive the support that they need to carry out their job effectively. It has been well documented that caregivers of stroke patients often suffer from depression (estimates range from 20-40%), feelings of social isolation, fatigue, and stress. If the caregiver is suffering from depression, they should be diagnosed and treated as soon as possible.

Some steps that the caregiver can take to prevent these issues from arising include:

• Keep open channels of communication with the survivor, family members, and members of the rehabilitation team
• Keep a positive attitude regarding continued progress of the patient; remember that the adjustment to stroke is a long-term process and progress may be measured in small advances. Also, try to think forward and look to the future instead of comparing how things were and try to encourage the survivor to do the same.
• Being a caregiver is a skill that requires time to learn and experience. Over time, you will develop a better sense of how to make things run smoothly for the patient and will also develop better communication skills with the patient.
• Try to set aside a regularly scheduled time where you can either be by yourself or go out to take care of your personal errands. Try to take time off on a weekly basis to interact with your friends and family members and not exclusively with the patient. This reduces the stress of being around the stroke survivor all the time with no break.
• Recruit family members to help with specific tasks that you feel will benefit the patient - e.g., spending time with them during their more alert hours, supplying the survivor with books on tape or musical selections that they enjoy, shopping for supplies for the home