The impact of nursing phone counseling on depression and anxiety in family caregivers

Abstract

Introduction: Family caregivers play a large supportive role in the care of patients suffering from special conditions, such as trauma and stroke. This makes them to be at risks of variety of mental disorders such as anxiety and depression. Effective communication and nursing consulting can play an important role in managing anxiety and depression in family caregivers. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of tele-counseling on the improvement of depression and anxiety in family caregivers of patients with trauma and stroke. Methods: This is a clinical trial study with 80 caregivers of stroke survivors discharged from Hospital. Inclusion criteria included being the primary caregiver, over 15 years of age, lack of cognitive impairment (dementia and delirium), lack of mourning experience for the past 6 months, and patient care for at least 2 months at home. Study tools included Beck Anxiety and Depression Inventory. The data were analyzed using t test, Mann-Whitney U, Wilcoxon and ANOVA tests in SPSS software. Results: In the experimental group, there was a significant decrease in levels of depression and anxiety of family caregivers of traumatic patients, but no significant difference was observed in the control group before and after the intervention. Conclusion: Nursing telephone consulting reduced the level of depression and anxiety of family caregivers of traumatic patients. Therefore, the development of desirable protocols for tele-counseling to support acute and chronic disease caregivers is suggested.