Factors influencing health-related quality of life of female caregivers of elderly stroke survivors in Thailand

Stroke is the most prevalent chronic physical impairment and disability in Thailand. About 80% of stroke survivors live with family and are cared for by women family members. However, there are few studies of caregiving strain and rewards for these Thai caregivers, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of these women has not previously been examined. The purposes of this cross-sectional, descriptive-correlational study were to assess caregiver strain, rewards of caregiving, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of Thai female family caregivers of elderly stroke survivors, including examining a model of relationships between those variables and caregiver, as well as care-receiver, characteristics.;A convenience sample of 108 out-patient survivors age 60 or older and their family caregivers were recruited from a northern Thai neurological hospital. There were 4 sets of caregiver variables-demographic data; caregiver strain from direct care and worry and rewards of caregiving, measured by the Family Care Inventory; and HRQOL, measured by the physical component summary (PCS) and mental component summary (MCS) of the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form Questionnaire (SF-36) Standard Version. A care receivers' variable, severity of stroke, was measured by the Barthel Index (ADL) and the Chula Index (IADL).;Caregivers reported low strain but high rewards of caregiving. Compared to SF-36 U.S. population norms, caregivers' mean score on the PCS was similar; whereas MCS mean score was somewhat lower. Strain from direct care correlated negatively with both PCS and MCS; strain from worry correlated negatively only with MCS. Rewards of caregiving correlated positively with MCS. Older caregivers experienced more strain from direct care and a lower PCS, but were more likely to have a better MCS than younger caregivers. Caregivers' income correlated negatively to direct care strain and worry. Stroke survivors' ADL and IADL correlated negatively with direct care strain and worry. In mediation testing, caregivers of highly ADL dependent survivors experiencing greater direct care strain had lower PCS and MCS; and lower MCS related to greater strain from worry.;Study results expanded knowledge about Thai female family caregivers, have implications for improving their quality of life, and for the design of future research.