Coping Mechanisms and Stress Among Informal Caregivers of Ischemic Stroke Patients

Nur Alfiah Lailan, Suhermi Sudirman, Wa Ode Sri Asnaniar, Rahmawati Ramli, Nur Wahyuni Munir

Abstract

Ischemic stroke patients are at risk of recurrence, which may increase dependency and require the role of informal caregivers in patient care. “This condition can cause stress that may be influenced by the caregivers’ coping mechanisms. This study aimed to determine the relationship between coping mechanisms and stress levels among informal caregivers of ischemic stroke patients at RSKD Dadi Makassar. This quantitative study used a non-probability sampling technique with a consecutive sampling method involving 138 informal caregivers of recurrent ischemic stroke patients. Data were collected using the Brief COPE Scale and Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10), then analyzed using the Chi-square test because the data were not normally distributed. The results showed no significant relationship between coping mechanisms and stress levels among informal caregivers of ischemic stroke patients (p = 0.110). However, descriptively, caregivers with adaptive coping mechanisms tended to experience lower stress levels compared to those with maladaptive coping mechanisms. This study indicates that caregiver stress levels may also be influenced by other factors such as patient characteristics, the number of caregivers involved in patient care, and social support.

Keywords

coping mechanisms; stress levels; informal caregivers; ischemic stroke

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References

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.25157/ihc.v2i1.26455

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