Problems of new caregivers of persons with stroke

Nine adult caregivers new to the role of caring for persons with stroke, upon discharge from rehabilitation centers in Ohio and Michigan and living farther away from formalized support services than urban caregivers, were enrolled for 3 months in a Web-based intervention project that examined the feasibility of the intervention and described the experience of caring. This article is an analysis of qualitative data from the intervention project that used a rigorous protocol to examine 68 perceived problems reported in caring. Problem themes in order of most to least frequent were 1) having independence issues, 2) dealing with emotions, 3) living with physical limitations, 4) managing co-morbid conditions, 5) balancing it all, 6) participating in physical therapy, and 7) having sleeping issues. These problems were related to four of Orem's universal self-care requisites. Although the total number of problems decreased over time, "balancing it all" was the only problem that increased. This may be due to the resumption of the caregivers' regular activities or increased caregiving responsibilities. Nurses could use these findings to identify and focus on self-care needs of caregivers and to implement problem-resolution strategies.