Date of Award

12-8-2022

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

MS in Epidemiology & Biostatistics

First Advisor

Dr. Uzma Rahim Khan

Second Advisor

Dr Nargis Asad

Third Advisor

Dr Noman

Department

Community Health Sciences

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To assess the psychological distress of family caregivers of patients who present with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) in the Emergency Department (ED) of Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH), Karachi Pakistan and determine the association of psychological distress with the severity of the traumatic brain injury of the patients.
METHODS: A cross sectional study was conducted in the Emergency Department of the Aga Khan University Hospital from June – October 2022. Information on traumatic brain injury patients was obtained by the triage. Upon arrival an initial diagnosis of traumatic brain injury into a respective category (mild, moderate, severe) by the doctors and nurses of emergency department was made using the Glasgow Coma Scoring. Our data collectors upon checking the relevant diagnosis from patient files and confirming with the doctors who made the diagnosis regarding the traumatic brain injury, approached the caregivers in the emergency department. They were explained the objective and procedure of our study and upon agreeing they were made to sign consent forms in the language of their choice, either Urdu or English. Caregivers were contacted after a period of three weeks post patient’s injury on a telephone call upon which information about their socio- demographics and psychological distress was collected. The psychological distress of the caregivers was measured using the General Health Questionnaire-12(GHQ-12). Means (standard deviations) were computed for continuous variables while frequencies(percentages) were computed for categorical variables. Linear regression was applied for univariate and multivariate analysis to identify significant variables and to obtain a statistically significant model respectively. Independent t- test was done to determine the means of different categories of traumatic brain injury to assess its effect on psychological distress.
RESULTS: GHQ-12 scores of 53 caregivers were obtained. Among the gender of caregivers we observed dominance of males among roles of caregivers (54.7%)and as the patients of TBI (83%). 51% of the caregivers belonged to extended families with 38% of the caregivers being the parents of the patients. 64% of the patients did not have any medical insurance. The mean age of TBI patients was 39(11) years.
CONCLUSION: It is evident that psychological distress is prevalent in caregivers of TBI patients. Higher the severity of TBI higher the distress. Hence it is imperative for health care workers to pay close attention to the psychological wellness of caregivers along with the patients, as they completely bear the responsibility of the patients. Appropriate interventions such as improvement in communication with health professionals for the caregivers can be tested to minimize psychological distress.

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1

Last Page

62

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