Stroke Caregiver Education and Training in an Inpatient Sub-Acute Setting: A Retrospective Clinical Audit

Caregiver burden is a significant issue post-stroke. Caregivers demonstrate unmet needs throughout the rehabilitation phase, with limited literature that delves into the details of caregiver education and training (CGET) provision prior to discharge.

To identify current practice of multidisciplinary team documentation of CGET following stroke on an inpatient subacute neurosciences ward.

A retrospective clinical audit was conducted on 109 stroke admissions on an inpatient subacute neurosciences ward. Documented demographic information, admission and discharge Functional Independence Measure scores, and CGET from the multidisciplinary team were collected using a purpose-built audit tool. Descriptive analysis and sub-group comparison explored the findings against the Stroke Guideline recommendations.

Data from 109 records were included, which identified 1398 episodes of CGET. Social work (SW) (79.9%) and occupational therapy (OT) (77.1%) documented CGET more consistently than other disciplines. CGET was significantly more likely to be documented for patients with cognitive impairment, yet only three of 28 (10.7%) individuals with memory impairment had documented CGET relating to memory strategies. Nursing staff documented minimal CGET across all domains, including management of continence.

Inconsistent CGET was documented for stroke recovery relating to activities of daily living, mobility and cognition. Variable documentation practices highlighted challenges with interpretation. Further research is needed to determine whether functional limitations of patients are being matched with the appropriate CGET.

multidisciplinary team caregiver education and training provision and documentation needs to be consistent, particularly relating to cognition, continence, mobility and activities of daily living.