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Neurological Sciences
Published in: Neurological Sciences 7/2017

01-07-2017 | Original Article

Evolution of psychological condition in caregivers of patients with disorders of consciousness: a longitudinal study

Authors: Francesco Corallo, Lilla Bonanno, Viviana Lo Buono, Simona De Salvo, Cettina Allone, Rosanna Palmeri, Elena La Gattuta, Carmela Rifici, Antonella Alagna, Antonino Todaro, Placido Bramanti, Silvia Marino

Published in: Neurological Sciences | Issue 7/2017

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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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Metadata
Title
Evolution of psychological condition in caregivers of patients with disorders of consciousness: a longitudinal study
Authors
Francesco Corallo
Lilla Bonanno
Viviana Lo Buono
Simona De Salvo
Cettina Allone
Rosanna Palmeri
Elena La Gattuta
Carmela Rifici
Antonella Alagna
Antonino Todaro
Placido Bramanti
Silvia Marino
Publication date
01-07-2017
Publisher
Springer Milan
Published in
Neurological Sciences / Issue 7/2017
Print ISSN: 1590-1874
Electronic ISSN: 1590-3478
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-017-2941-6

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