出院準備服務對中風老人主要照顧者生活品質的影響

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of discharge planning on the quality of life of primary caregivers of elderly stroke victims for six months after the latters' discharge from hospital The study used a longitudinal quasi-experimental design One hundred and three caregivers from four neurological wards of a medical center in northern Taiwan were enlisted Short form-36 (SF-36) health status was used to measure quality of life The results showed that the highest scores for quality of life of primary caregivers for six months after their patient's discharge were for physical function and the lowest were for vitality Also, caregivers' general health was better in the experimental group than in the control group on the sixth month Scores for caregivers' social function and general health varied between the two groups on the third month Scores for caregivers' physical function and social function varied between the two groups on the sixth month After the time factor was controlled, however, discharge planning showed no effect on differences between the two groups in terms of caregivers' quality of life after discharge After the group factor was controlled, discharge planning showed a negative effect on caregivers' body pain on the sixth month after discharge The results of this study suggest that discharge planning programs should not only involve longitudinal follow-up, but also support groups and social workers to promote the mental dimension of caregivers' quality of life.