Abstract
The aim of this study is to evaluate mood disorders and needs in caregivers of disorders of consciousness (DOC) patients during the admission to Neurorehabilitation Unit. A total of 80 caregivers was enrolled and divided in two groups (caregivers of vegetative state–VS patients and caregivers of minimally conscious state–MCS patients). Paired sample t tests were carried out to test differences between baseline observation (T0) and after 6 months (T1). Caregivers of VS patients showed an improvement between T0 and T1 especially, in vitality, mean health, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Y (STAI-Y), Prolonged Grief Disorder (PG 12) and Caregiver Needs Assessment (CNA). On the other hand, caregivers of MCS patients showed a significant improvement in: BDI II, STAI Y and CNA. These data confirmed that the presence of psychological problems, the quality of life and the psychological wellbeing of caregivers of DOC patients improved over the time.
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Corallo, F., Bonanno, L., Lo Buono, V. et al. Evolution of psychological condition in caregivers of patients with disorders of consciousness: a longitudinal study. Neurol Sci 38, 1249–1253 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-017-2941-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-017-2941-6