Understanding caregiver needs for elderly stroke patients

The aim of this study was to gain insights into the caregiving feelings and needs of primary caregivers of elderly stroke patients with a view to informing the enhancement of caregivers' physical and mental health and caregiving capacity. Through face-to-face semi-structured interviews with 19 caregivers in March-April 2024, we found that caregivers faced multiple pressures such as physical and mental burden, financial pressure, personality maladjustment, and changes in life patterns. At the same time, some of the caregivers realized increased psychological resilience, health awareness, strengthened family bonds, and reshaped meaning of life in coping with the challenges. The study also revealed caregivers' diverse needs for tools, information, emotional and social support.The findings of this study point to the fact that despite the many challenges faced by caregivers, personal growth is also realized in the process of caregiving. Therefore, we recommend that healthcare professionals focus on caregivers' experiences of caregiving, assist them in identifying the positive aspects of the caregiving process, and collaborate with various resources to meet the diverse needs of caregivers, thereby improving the quality of care.We believe that the results of this study are important for optimizing care strategies for elderly stroke patients and hope to provide valuable information to the readers of your journal. Thank you for considering our submission and we look forward to hearing from you.

本研究旨在深入了解老年脑卒中患者主要照护者的照护感受与需求，以期为提升照护者的身心健康水平及照护能力提供参考依据。本研究于2024年3—4月对19名照护者开展半结构化面对面访谈，结果显示，照护者面临多重压力，包括身心负担、经济压力、人格适应不良及生活模式改变。与此同时，部分照护者在应对挑战的过程中，心理韧性有所提升、健康意识增强、家庭纽带更加紧密，并重新诠释了生命的意义。研究同时揭示了照护者在工具支持、信息支持、情感支持及社会支持方面的多样化需求。

本研究结果表明，尽管照护者面临诸多挑战，但在照护过程中亦能实现个人成长。据此，本研究建议医疗健康从业者应关注照护者的照护体验，协助其发掘照护过程中的积极层面，并联动多方资源以满足照护者的多样化需求，进而提升照护质量。

我们认为本研究结果对于优化老年脑卒中患者的照护策略具有重要意义，希望能为本刊读者提供有价值的参考信息。感谢您考虑本稿件的刊发，期待您的回复。