Citation

Brickell TA, French LM, Lippa SM, Lange RT. Brain Inj. 2018; 32(12): 1541-1548.

Affiliation

d University of British Columbia , Vancouver , British Columbia , Canada.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/02699052.2018.1503328

PMID

30148407

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To determine the (a) health status and caregiving appraisal and (b) influence of perceived burden on health and appraisal in a sample of caregivers helping service member/veterans (SMVs) following a traumatic brain injury (TBI).

METHODS: Participants were caregivers (N = 283, female = 96.1%, 86.2% = spouse/partner) of SMVs who sustained a mild-severe or penetrating TBI. Participants completed the Caregiver Appraisal Scale (CAS) and the SF-36v2 Health Survey (SF-36v2). Participants were divided into three burden groups: high, neutral, and low.

RESULTS: Almost half the sample (48.8%) reported negative feelings on the CAS Perceived Burden scale. A substantial proportion had lower scores than a normative sample on four SF-36v2 physical health scales (35.1-64.5%) and four mental health scales (70.7-79.8%). A significant main effect was found across caregiver burden groups on three CAS scales (p = 0.010 to p < 0.001), two SF-36v2 component scores (all ps < 0.001), and eight SF-36v2 scales (p = 0.001 to p < 0.001). Caregivers with high perceived burden reported significantly worse scores, except CAS Caregiving Ideology. All CAS and SF-36v2 scales were significant predictors of CAS Perceived Burden scores (all ps< 0.001), with the SF-36v2 Social Functioning scale accounting for the most variance (32.6%).

CONCLUSIONS: Health care and social services are needed for caregivers who help SMVs to foster resilience, wellness, and growth.

Language: en

Keywords

Caregiver; burden; polytrauma; post-traumatic stress; service member veteran; traumatic brain injury