Purpose : This paper explores the perceived health and reported level of st
rain in the primary carers of severely brain injured individuals, 15-18 mon
ths after discharge from inpatient rehabilitation.
Method: Seventy carers took part in a prospective descriptive study utilizi
ng a semistructured interview and standardized measures including the SF36,
The Carer Strain Index and the Relative Questionnaire. Functional conseque
nces for the injured person were also assessed.
Results : The SF36 demonstrated a trend towards lower perceived health for
carers than that reported in the general population. Neither perceived heal
th status nor level of strain differed significantly according to the type
of injury sustained (haemorrhagic or traumatic) nor initial severity of inj
ury. Factors that contributed to carers having worse health status included
the injured person's level of disability and interpersonal factors such as
the nature of the relationship, with spouses having lower perceived health
status than parents.
Conclusions : Irrespective of cause of injury, generalised health consequen
ces result for the carers of those with disabling consequences of brain inj
ury. Factors independent of the injured individual themselves (such as the
nature of the relationship to the carer) need to be taken into consideratio
n when exploring wellbeing of carers and planning services.