An Innovative Model of a Home-Like Environment for People in Vegetative and Minimally Conscious States

Post-Discharge Plight Of Patients With Chronic Disorders Of Consciousness: A Systematic Review Of Socioeconomic And Health Aspects

Objective — the presented study aims to systematize and structure significant information regarding the problems of patients with disorders of consciousness (DOC) and their families after discharge from the hospital, and to search for possible solutions. Material and Methods — to identify eligible studies, we searched the Medline database (via PubMed) for studies on socioeconomic and medical issues of patients with chronic DOC at the post-hospital stage of rehabilitation for the last 20 years. Results — we included 28 studies with 21 cohorts of patients from 7 different countries in our study. The components of informal caregiver burden and their impact on the quality of life were identified and systematized. These components include high physical load, high economic costs, vast time expenditures, strong emotional involvement, and a top level of expertise in caregiving, all of which are required from the relatives. Conclusion — It was affirmed, that the lack of healthcare system support was a major contributing factor to the overall burden. Our research also showed that delivering care without receiving information, advice, and training is extremely painful for family caregivers.

Information Seeking Experiences of Family Caregivers of Patients with Persistent Vegetative State: A Qualitative Study

Background:

Providing care for patients in Persistent Vegetative State (PVS) by family caregivers without enough training and knowledge may be problematic both for the patients and for the caregivers. Therefore, the present study tries to explain the experiences of family caregivers of patients with PVS of seeking information needed to provide adequate care.

Materials and Methods:

Twenty two participants, including 17 family caregivers and 5 professional caregivers were enrolled by purposive sampling into this qualitative content analysis study, carried out between 2013 and 2015. Unstructured interviews and field notes were used to gather the data. Data collection was stopped when data saturation was achieved. Data analysis was performed by content analysis based on Graneheim and Lundman's approach.

Results:

As a result of the analysis of the collected data a main theme emerged labeled as “Seeking constructive education” with three categories including “Neglected requisite education,” “Greedy search for useful education” and “Dynamic independence in care.”

Conclusions:

In this study, information seeking by family caregivers of patients with PVS was constructive. Family caregivers insistently sought needed information from various sources. Ultimately, they found these insistent efforts beneficial and fruitful, because their efforts made them independent in providing care for their patients.