POST-STROKE QUALITY OF LIFE PERCEIVED BY PATIENTS AND CAREGIVERS

Abstract

POST-STROKE QUALITY OF LIFE PERCEIVED BY PATIENTS AND CAREGIVERS Gitalia Putri Medea1 *, Elly Nurachmah2 , Muhamad Adam2 1. Program Study of Nursing, Department of Health, Politeknik Negeri Nusa Utara, Sangihe 95812, Indonesia 2. Faculty of Nursing Universitas Indonesia, Depok 16424, Indonesia *E-mail: gitaliaputrimedea@polnustar.ac.id Abstract The quality of life (QOL) of post-stroke patients can be assessed from the reports of patients themselves obtained through a structured interview or a questionnaire. However, some individuals are unable to comprehensively describe their QOL because of language disorders, cognitive effects caused by stroke, or pre-existing conditions. This study aims to identify differences in post-stroke QOL perception between patients and caregivers. A cross-sectional design involving 115 stroke patients and 115 caregivers was adopted, and Mann–Whitney test was used for statistical analysis. Results showed no significant difference in QOL perception (p = 0.166; α < 0.05), particularly in the physical (p = 0.278; α < 0.05), psychological (p = 0.068; α < 0.05), social relationship (p = 0.976; α < 0.05), and environmental (p = 0.157; α < 0.05) domains between patients and caregivers. Therefore, information from caregivers can be used to assess QOL when patients are incapable of reporting their condition. Keywords: caregiver, perception, quality of life, stroke