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Biomedical subjects

Dawn M Aycock

Publications and source records attributed to Dawn M Aycock.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Factor analysis of the Revised Piper Fatigue Scale in a caregiver sample.

The Revised Piper Fatigue Scale (R-PFS) is an instrument designed to measure subjective fatigue that was developed in samples with physical illness. Its psychometric properties in nonclinical samples are unknown. The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the R-PFS in a sample of caregivers of stroke survivors. The convenience sample of 132 caregivers was primarily women (74%), White (71%), college-educated (73%), and employed (52%), with a mean age of 56.7 years (SD = 13.71). Internal consistency reliabilities for the four R-PFS subscales and the total scale were excellent, ranging from .90 to .97. Principal axis factor analysis with oblique rotation was conducted to examine construct validity of the R-PFS. A three-factor solution explained 75.9% of the common variance. Two factors totally replicated the behavioral/severity and affective meaning subscales of the R-PFS. The third factor incorporated a combination of Piper's sensory and cognitive/mood subscales and appeared to summarize how fatigue makes the caregiver feel. The R-PFS demonstrated strong internal consistency reliability and construct validity in this sample. However, data suggest that caregivers may perceive certain feelings associated with fatigue as conceptually similar when these feelings are conceptually distinct in Piper's breast cancer sample. The study supports the need for psychometric evaluation of instruments developed in clinical populations prior to their use in nonclinical populations.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Pain, fatigue, and intensity of practice in people with stroke who are receiving constraint-induced movement therapy.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: There is little available information about changes in pain and fatigue status among people receiving constraint-induced movement therapy (CI therapy). This study examined such changes. SUBJECTS: All participants were a subset of individuals with stroke enrolled in the Extremity Constraint-Induced Therapy Evaluation (EXCITE) trial and received 2 weeks of CI therapy either 3 to 9 months after stroke (subacute therapy group, n=18) or 1 year later (chronic therapy group, n=14). METHODS: Pain, fatigue, and intensity of therapy were evaluated. The Wolf Motor Function Test (WMFT) and the pain scale of the Fugl-Meyer Assessment for the upper extremity were administered before and after training. Single-item measures for pain and fatigue were administered twice daily during therapy. RESULTS: All participants reported low mean pain (X=2.0, SD=0.93) and fatigue (X=2.7, SD=1.23) scores. Generally, differences between the subacute and the chronic therapy groups for pain, fatigue, intensity, and WMFT change scores were nonsignificant. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: For selected patients with stroke, the intensive practice associated with CI therapy may be administered without exacerbation of pain or fatigue, even early during the recovery process.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Caregiver perspectives of memory and behavior changes in stroke survivors.

Post-stroke memory and behavior changes (MBC) are associated with negative outcomes for stroke survivors and caregivers. This article describes the types of MBC that occur most frequently and caregivers' responses to these behaviors. Data were obtained through in-person interviews and administration of questionnaires to 132 caregivers of first-time stroke survivors 3-9 months after stroke. MBC were measured with a modified version of a Memory and Behavior Problems checklist. On average, caregivers reported 7.7 +/- 3.6 (range 0-17) behaviors. Common stroke survivor MBC included appearing sad or depressed, interrupting the caregiver, and being restless or agitated. These MBC were distressing to caregivers. Caregivers may not recognize some MBC as potential symptoms of depression. In addition, caregiver misunderstanding of the amount of control survivors may have over some behaviors has implications for rehabilitation and caregivers' responses to these changes.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Influence of stroke survivor characteristics and family conflict surrounding recovery on caregivers' mental and physical health.

BACKGROUND: Stroke recovery is a dynamic process for stroke survivors, and shorter lengths of stay in healthcare settings shift the care of the survivors to family caregivers. The physical and mental sequelae after stroke and the family's response to this catastrophic event may have deleterious effects on caregivers. OBJECTIVE: To examine the influence of stroke survivors' motor function, their memory and behavior changes, and the family conflict surrounding stroke recovery on the mental and physical health of caregivers during the subacute recovery period. METHODS: This cross-sectional, correlational study used baseline data from family caregivers (n = 132) and first-time stroke survivors enrolled in a larger multisite study. RESULTS: The caregivers were primarily White (71%), female (74%), college-educated (73%) spouses (80%) of survivors. Most of the caregivers (66%) reported family conflict. The caregivers from families with lower family functioning scores reported worse mental health. The caregivers reported lower mental health when they were caring for stroke survivors with a combination of high memory/behavior changes and low motor function (R =.30). Family conflict appears to exacerbate the impact of memory and behavior changes on caregiver mental health. Higher caregiver education and no major health problems were associated with better caregiver physical health (R =.36). Caregiver physical health was not associated with family functioning or stroke survivor memory and behavior changes. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that memory and behavior changes of stroke survivors and family conflict surrounding stroke recovery are important considerations for assessment during the poststroke recovery period.

Activities of Daily Living↗