Psychosocial intervention outcomes among women caregivers of traumatic brain injury survivors

BACKGROUND: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the leading causes of temporary and permanent disabilities, which requires adequate caregiving for the recovery of TBI survivors. Previous studies have reported that women act as primary and informal caregivers around the world. Since such a caregiving process is influenced by gendered roles and psychosocial factors, developing interventions to address the same is essential. METHODS: The study employed a quasi-experimental single-group intervention design with pre-post-assessments. Fifty women caregivers were recruited using a purposive sampling method. GHQ, Family Burden Scale, and DASS-21 were used as outcome measures. RESULTS: The study reports a significant improvement in depression, anxiety, and family burden experienced by the caregivers. Mixed results were yielded in the subdomains of general health. Apart from the primary outcomes, the study also helps to understand the lack of informational support experienced by the caregivers and the prevalence of substance abuse among the TBI survivors. CONCLUSION: The study reports that psychosocial interventions are effective in addressing the caregiver burden of women caregivers, which indicates that psychiatric social workers should consider providing timely tailor-made psycho-social interventions. The researchers recommend that future studies employ randomized controlled trials to understand the long-term impact of the intervention programs.