Unn Sollid Manskow disputerer for ph.d.-graden i helsevitenskap og vil offentlig forsvare avhandlingen:
«Caregivers to patients with severe traumatic brain injury. A national prospective study on caregiver burden, life satisfaction and health care experiences”
Kort sammendrag av avhandlingen:
Background: Severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major public health challenge as it often has huge consequences for the patient and the family for a long time after the injury.
Objective: Assess caregiver burden and predictors of burden 1 year post injury, investigate change and stability of caregiver burden and life satisfaction over time. Develop a validated tool to assess family member’s in-hospital health care experiences.
Methods: A Norwegian prospective cohort multicenter study including 122 caregivers to patients with severe TBI. A structured questionnaire was used to assess caregiver burden, change in burden and life satisfaction over time and predictors of burden 1 and 2 years post injury. The Family Experiences of in-hospital Care Questionnaire for family members of patients with severe Traumatic Brain Injury (FECQ-TBI) was developed.
Results: Paper I and II reported a moderate to high caregiver burden up to 2 years post injury. A poor social network, feeling lonely and taking care of a patient with more functional problems were significant predictors of a high burden. A significantly higher caregiver burden and lower life satisfaction at 2 years compared to 1 year post-injury were found. Paper III describes the development of the FECQ-TBI. Principal component analysis extracted six subscales: acute organization and information, rehabilitation organization, rehabilitation information, discharge, hospital facilities-patient and hospital facilities-family. All subscales had Cronbach´s alpha coefficients > 0.80, confirming the internal consistency. Hypothesis testing supported construct validity.
Conclusion: Caregivers of patients with severe TBI experiences a considerable caregiver burden long time post injury. The FECQ-TBI showed good psychometric properties and construct validity, supporting the use of the FEQC-TBI to assess quality of in-hospital care from a family perspective. The results may have clinical implications as improved family-centered acute and rehabilitative care and a long-term follow-up can prevent the perceived caregiver burden over time.
(Avhandlingen er tilgjengelig for utlån hos Seksjon for forskningstjenester frem til disputasdato)
Veiledere
Hovedveileder professor Audny Anke IKM
Biveileder førsteamanuensis Elin Damsgård IHO
Bedømmelseskomiteen
Førsteamanuensis Ingrid Poulsen, Aarhus University - 1. opponent
Førsteamanuensis Frank Becker, UiO - 2. opponent
Professor Tore Sørlie, IKM,– Leder av komite
Disputasleder
Førsteamanuensis Linn Hofsøy Steffensen, IKM Det helsevitenskapelige fakultet, Universitetet i Tromsø – Norges arktiske universitet
Prøveforelesning over oppgitt emne holdes kl. 10.15, samme sted: «Ulike teoretiske perspektiver på forståelse av familierelasjoner og hvordan forstå «caregiver burden» hos pårørende til pasienter med alvorlig hjerneskade i lys av disse?»