Gender- and age-specific aspects of assistance need in caregivers of stroke patients: results from a qualitative panel study

The present study aimed at investigating the need for professional assistance in carers of stroke patients who do not require a therapeutic group intervention; and furthermore, how this need for assistance is changing in the course of rehabilitation. Ten highly burdened spouses of stroke survivors were interviewed twice in the framework of a qualitative panel study. In-depth interviews concerning subjective burden and assistance requirements were carried out and analyzed using Grounded Theory coding procedures. The evaluation of the interview data showed that the relatives' needs for assistance change in the course of rehabilitation, and feature gender- and age-specific differences. Assistance needs persist in the medium and long term, with qualitative diversifications: During the in-patient rehabilitation period, carers request mainly illness-related information, whereas emotional assistance is rarely desired. This is different during the out-patient rehabilitation period: While the desire for further information decreases, the need for emotional assistance (e. g.disburdening counselling) increasingly comes to the fore. Women much more often desire professional assistance than men. When designing and offering professional assistance for caregivers of stroke patients, gender- and age-specific aspects should be taken into account, as well as the medium- and long-term changes in assistance need.