The effectiveness of a stroke education group on persons with stroke and their caregivers

The educational group has been proposed as an effective way to deliver a program based on structured stroke knowledge to enhance emotional support among people with stroke and their caregivers. The aim of this study was to explore whether the stroke educational group could increase stroke-related knowledge, and improve perceived health status, in persons with stroke and their caregivers, and thus reduce the stress induced during the care-giving process. In this study a quasi-experimental design, that included a pre-test and a post-test, was employed on a total of 54 patients with stroke and 32 caregivers who participated in a 2-week stroke educational group. The outcome measures included a Stroke Knowledge Test, the Short-Form 36 and the Relatives' Stress Scale. The tests were administrated before and after the running of the stroke educational group as well as, during the 1-week, 2-week and 1-month follow-up sessions. The results showed a statistically significant increase in stroke-related knowledge in the patients (F [1,51]=7.28-9.67, P<0.01) and their caregivers (F [1,30]=44.19-80.49, P<0.01), but no similar significant improvement was noted on perceived health status and care-giving stress. A significant association between the total scores in the stroke knowledge test and the admission scores in the Mini Mental State Examination of the patients was also revealed (F [1,51]=48.03-58.87, P<0.01). In conclusion, the results suggest that there was an improvement in the acquisition of stroke-related knowledge by both patients with stroke, and their caregivers, after a stroke educational group. A further study exploring the behavioral changes of individuals with stroke and their caregivers after attending a stroke educational group is recommended.