Effect of a Family Support Enhancement Program on Pressure Ulcer Prevention Behaviors of Family Caregivers of Stroke Persons in Communities

Abstract

Stroke patients have limited ability to practice self-care which results in a high risk of complications, especially from pressure sores. Therefore, caregivers are important persons in providing care to prevent pressure sores. This quasi-experimental study aimed to compare the mean scores for pressure ulcer prevention behavior of family caregivers for people with stroke in communities, before and after receiving a program, and between an experimental group and a control group. The participants were 50 community-dwelling caregivers for patients with stroke, divided into 24 receiving the program and 26 receiving normal nursing care. The research tools included a family support program developed by the researcher based on House’s social support approach. Data collection tools included a general information questionnaire and a questionnaire on pressure ulcer prevention behaviors in stroke patients. All instruments were reviewed for quality by six experts. The content validity index (S-CVI) of the questionnaire on pressure ulcer prevention behaviors in stroke patients was 0.80, and reliability, using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, was 0.91. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics, independent t-test, and paired t-test.

The results showed that the experimental group who received the family support program had a significantly higher mean score for prevention behaviors in stroke patients (M = 71.50, SD = 8.21) than pre-program (M = 47.96, SD = 14.39) and higher than that of the control group who received normal nursing care (M = 59.25, SD = 8.06) (p < .001).   

This result demonstrates that the family support program can be used to effectively promote pressure ulcer prevention behaviors of community-dwelling caregivers of stroke patients.