PURPOSE
Aspiration pneumonia (AP) is the major complication of dysphagia in patients with acute stroke. Nursing management for dysphagia influences on patients' health outcomes. The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate the effects of Dysphagia Nursing Protocol (DNP) for patients with acute stroke. We aimed to examine the incidence of AP and the dependency rate at the discharge.
METHODS
We used a non-equivalent control group posttest only design in this study. DNP was developed with content validity index > 0.75 in all items. This protocol was composed of the evaluation, education, complication prevention, and checking phases. After training the staff nurses, we applied DNP protocol to the experimental group. The control group was enrolled from June to August 2013 (n=80), and the experimental group was June to August 2014 (n=64).
RESULTS
The incidence of AP was 16.3% in control group while 4.7% in experimental group (p=.028), and the Odds Ratio (OR) was 0.26 (p=.045). The dependency ratio was 66.3% in control group while 43.8% in experimental group (p=.011), and the OR was 0.33 (p=.011).
CONCLUSION
DNP was beneficial for the reducing the risk of AP and the improved the functional status.

Citations

• Dysphagia and daily oral fluids among cerebrovascular stroke patients: an theory-based nursing intervention protocol
  Zeinab Hussein Ali, Marwa Abd-Elaziz, Amany Abdrbo
  Frontiers of Nursing.2023; 10(2): 213.     CrossRef

PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to investigate caregiver burden and health related quality of life (HRQoL) among male spouses who cared for partners with a stroke.
METHODS
The subjects were spouses of 121 female patients who visited the neurology outpatients department in one tertiary hospital located in Seoul between February and April in 2011.
RESULTS
The mean age of the male caregivers was 71.25+/-5.51 years. The mean score of caregiver's burden was moderate (63.28+/-9.85). The average reported caregiving time was 58.48+/-5.51 min/day with the male spouses spending more time in house-working than with caregiving activities. The reported depression and care giving time, plus the cognitive status and functional dependencies of the spouse were significantly related to male caregiver's burden. The mean scores of 'physical health' and 'mental health' for quality of life for the male caregivers was moderate (47.49 and 47.33 respectively). Overall, caregiver's burden has a negative effect on the HRQoL of male spouses.
CONCLUSION
Caregiver's burden and HRQoL are important problems which are in need of nurses' attention. It is suggested that intervention programs for male spouses be developed with a focus on emotional and social support as well as education about the caregiving role.