Francois S, Borgermans L, Van Casteren V, Vanthomme K, Devroey D. Availability of Informal caregivers in surviving stroke patients in Belgium. Scand J Caring Sci. 2013 Nov 4. doi: 10.1111/scs.12093.
Eerste auteur: Francois S.
Jaar: 2013
Type: Publicatie
Medline
Abstract:
OBJECTIVE: To quantify the availability of informal caregivers in surviving stroke patients residing at home in Belgium.
METHODS: National estimates on the availability of informal caregivers were made using data from a nationwide observational registration of family physicians working in sentinel practices and a nationwide administrative database for reimbursement of hospitals in Belgium.
RESULTS: A total of 189 Belgian family physicians (FPs) from 141 practices participated in the study and recorded 326 patients (144 men and 182 women) with stroke. These FPs reach 1.5% of the Belgian population. After one month, 71% of the male and 75% of the female stroke survivors received support from family caregivers (p=0.547). After six months, the percentage of male patients who received support by family caregivers decreased to 60% compared to 75% in woman (p=0.038). Of all patients with stroke admitted to Belgian hospitals during the reference year of 2009 (n= 16.437), 8.997 returned home. Based on findings from the Sentinel practices, it is estimated that a mean of 73% (n= 6.568) and 67,5% (n= 6.073) of surviving patients with stroke can rely on informal caregivers in their home setting after one and six months respectively.
CONCLUSIONS: A vast majority of surviving stroke patients in Belgium can rely on informal caregivers in their home setting, but their availability rapidly decreases six months after the event. These findings underline the importance of pro-active health policy making in stroke care taking into account the potentially decreasing number of available informal caregivers in the decades to come.