Therapeutic educational workshops for caregivers of patients with severe acquired brain injury.

Severe acquired brain injury (sABI) leads to a wide range of functional limitations in cognitive, moto and behavioural abilities. These changes impact the patient's family in terms of the feeling of emotional and physical health, social life and financial condition. Caregivers are often intensely involved in the patient's management exposing them to negative effects of caregiving including stress, mood disorders and decreased quality of life. Implementing forms of active involvement of caregivers in the rehabilitative program could be useful. Thus, in the present study, therapeutic educational workshops (TEWs) for caregivers during the post-acute intensive hospitalization were organized during the post-acute intensive hospitalization of patients with sABI. The caregivers were asked to participate in the workshops to actively involve them in the patient's care and neurorehabilitation program. Each workshop session provided indications regarding the management of the patient with aphasia, neglect, behavioural and swallowing disorders. A questionnaire of 22 items has been designed in order to represent possible indicators of usefulness and effectiveness of the TEWs. The primary aim of this study was to develop a reliable and valid questionnaire able to assess the caregivers' satisfaction with the modalities of carrying out the TEW as a novel activity during the post-acute hospitalization of patients with sABI. The second aim was to assess the caregivers' satisfaction with the utility of the TEW as a tool to enhance their skills in the management of patients' disabilities. 100 caregivers of patients with sABI who attended at least one TEW session and completed the questionnaire were included in the analysis. In conclusion the administered questionnaire has proven to be a valid and reliable tool to evaluate sABI caregivers' satisfaction with TEW. Moreover, caregivers were satisfied with the organization of the TEW and with their usefulness in the management of the patients with sABI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]