OP9
THE WEIGHT OF CARE: HOW DOES PERCEIVED CAREGIVER BURDEN VARY BY STAFF GROUP AND SUB-SPECIALTY WITHIN A SPECIALIST INPATIENT NEUROREHABILITATION FACILITY?
- Dalton, L. Bradley, Royal Hospital for Neurodisability, Putney, UK
Background:
The concept of “carer burden” for professionals working within brain injury neurorehabilitation settings is recognised and associated with burn-out and reduced quality of care. Understanding the impact of different patient-related elements for different staff groups within sub-speciality settings would allow the development of tailored support.
Aims:
To determine the levels of caregiver burden amongst staff in different patient-facing roles in different sub-specialist inpatient neurorehabilitation settings.
Methods:
We administered the 21-item Professional Caregiver Burden (PCB) Neuro questionnaire and collected demographic data (age, length of time since qualification) from staff working in four different clinical areas (neurobehavioral, prolonged disorders of consciousness (PDOC), goal-oriented rehabilitation and long-term ventilation) at a specialist inpatient neurorehabilitation unit.
Results:
There were 140 respondents comprising of medical staff (n = 10), nurses (n = 40), allied health professionals (AHPs, n = 53) and health care assistants (HCAs n = 37). The questionnaire showed good internal consistency (Cronbach’s Alpha = 0.89). Multivariate analysis revealed significantly higher levels of burden experienced by AHPs on the PDOC unit (p<.001) and by HCAs in goal-orientated rehabilitation (p<.001) compared with other staff groups.
Conclusions:
Working with different patient groups appears to engender a greater degree of perceived burden for particular staff groups. For AHPs, working with people in PDOC there may be difficult conversations around prognostication and associated ethical challenges. For HCAs working in “active rehabilitation” there may be a greater “hands-on” physical burden in facilitating activities of daily living. Understanding these differences allows for formulation around more role-specific support.
References:
Bivona, U., Villalobos, D., De Luca, M., Zilli, F., Ferri, G., Lucatello, S., … Formisano, R. (2020). Psychological status and role of caregivers in the neuro-rehabilitation of patients with severe Acquired Brain Injury (ABI). Brain Injury, 34(13–14), 1714–1722. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699052.2020.1812002
Hall, L. H., Johnson, J., Watt, I., Tsipa, A., & O’Connor, D. B. (2016). Healthcare Staff Wellbeing, Burnout, and Patient Safety: A Systematic Review. PloS One, 11(7), e0159015. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0159015
Lesley, R. (2024). Understanding and Assessing Burden in Caregivers of People with Neurological Conditions. University of Leicester.
Page, B., Irving, D., Amalberti, R., & Vincent, C. (2024). Health services under pressure: a scoping review and development of a taxonomy of adaptive strategies. BMJ Quality & Safety, 33(11), 738–747. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjqs-2023-016686
Turner-Stokes, L., Pick, A., Nair, A., Disler, P. B., & Wade, D. T. (2015). Multi-disciplinary rehabilitation for acquired brain injury in adults of working age. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2015(12), CD004170. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD004170.pub3
