Introduction:

Caring for stroke survivors at home creates high levels of care burden among family caregivers. As the nature of caregiving is multidimensional, previous initiatives at alleviating the care burden using a single approach have not been adequate. It was recommended that future studies focus on tailored interventions that address the needs of family caregivers and combine different approaches to relieve caregivers’ burden. However, there is a lack of literature regarding interventions that incorporate these recommendations. The proposed study aims to evaluate the effect of a tailored multidimensional intervention developed by researchers to reduce the care burden among family caregivers of stroke survivors. Based on the perceived needs of family caregivers of stroke survivors, this intervention takes into account scientific recommendations to combine three different approaches: skill-building, psycho-education, and peer support.

Methods and analysis: Using a prospective, randomized, open-label, parallel-group design, 110 family caregivers were enrolled and randomly assigned to either the intervention group or the control group. The intervention was administered for 6 months and included three home visits and six home-based telephone calls, as well as one peer support session. Family caregivers of the control group received a simple educational booklet during only one home visit. The primary outcome is the care burden as measured using the Zarit Burden Interview. The secondary outcome is the quality of life. Outcomes evaluation was conducted at baseline (T0), Month 3 (T1), and Month 6 (T2). An Independent t-test will be performed to compare the mean values of study variables between the two groups at both T1 and T2. In addition, repeated-measures analysis of variance was conducted to assess changes in effects over time.

Outcomes will be assessed after the randomization and prior to the start of the intervention (T0), 3 months after the start of the intervention (T1), and 6 months after the baseline assessment (T2). The data at three-time points will be collected by the intervention nurses without blindness through visiting the caregivers’ homes.

The primary outcome (Care burden) was measured using the short version of the Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI).

The secondary outcome (Quality of life) was measured using the WHO Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF).