Can a couples' intervention reduce unmet needs and caregiver burden after brain injury?

Damn it all, we wouldn't need this secondary problem to be solved if you solved the only goal in stroke, 100% RECOVERY. The stroke strategy, if we had one, would only focus on 100% recovery, not these secondary issues.  We would waste a hell of lot less time and money that way. I never see this improving until we get survivors in charge.

Can a couples' intervention reduce unmet needs and caregiver burden after brain injury?

Graham KM¹, Kreutzer JS¹, Marwitz JH¹, Sima AP², Hsu NH¹.

Author information

1

Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

2

Department of Biostatistics.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To examine the effectiveness of the Therapeutic Couples Intervention (TCI) on caregiver needs and burden after brain injury.

RESEARCH METHOD:

Individuals with brain injury and their intimate partners/caregivers (n = 75) participated in a 2-arm, parallel, randomized trial with a waitlist control. The TCI consisted of 5 2-hr sessions, with a sixth optional session for parents. The Family Needs Questionnaire-R (FNQ-R) and the Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI) were secondary outcome measures.

RESULTS:

After adjusting for baseline characteristics, caregivers in the TCI group demonstrated reduction in unmet needs for 5 of the 6 FNQ-R subscales, whereas those in the waitlist control group did not. ZBI scores improved significantly for TCI caregivers but not for controls. At the 3-month follow-up, benefits were maintained for the ZBI and 4 of the 6 FNQ-R subscales (Health Information, Emotional Support, Professional Support, and Community Support Network).

CONCLUSIONS:

The present investigation provided evidence that, following brain injury, a structured couples intervention can reduce unmet needs and burden in caregivers. Future multicenter research examining long-term durability of treatment gains and specific characteristics of positive responders is warranted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

TRIAL REGISTRATION:

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01935609.

PMID:

31855018

DOI:

10.1037/rep0000300