Day healthcare services for family caregivers of older people with stroke: needs and satisfaction.

AIM: This paper is a report of a study to identify family caregivers' needs and satisfaction levels in adult day healthcare services for older adults with stroke.

BACKGROUND

With a growing number of older people suffering from chronic illnesses, the demand for adult day care is growing worldwide. However, in Asia, caregivers face unique challenges in selecting and using culturally acceptable models of care for older people with stroke, and there are still unmet needs in adult day healthcare services.

METHOD: A cross-sectional descriptive survey was carried out in 2006 with a convenience sample of 119 family caregivers from nine centres in Korea. The questionnaire included the Modified Caregiver Satisfaction Scale.

FINDINGS: Korean family caregivers of older people with stroke were moderately satisfied with the adult day healthcare services. In particular, health management was an area with a high level of needs but with a low level of satisfaction. Respondents also had unmet needs such as speech therapy, patient-tailored exercise and physical therapy. There was a statistically significant difference in degree of satisfaction according to whether or not Registered Nurses delivered care at the centres.

CONCLUSION

It is important to reflect family caregivers' needs by providing quality care, which is culture-specific adult day healthcare services and focuses on health management and skilled nursing care.