Family's Caregiving Status and Post-Stroke Functional Recovery During Subacute Period from Discharge to Home: A Retrospective Study.

Background/Objectives: Family members, often informal caregivers, play a crucial role in providing home care for stroke survivors. The period following discharge to home after receiving acute stroke management in a hospital includes the subacute phase of stroke and remains critical to the recovery of stroke patients. This study evaluated the association between family caregiving and post-stroke functional recovery after discharge to home. Methods: Data from 402 patients with stroke were obtained from the Korea University Ansan Hospital Stroke Center from January 2019 to May 2022. The family's caregiving status was evaluated for family burden and supportable environment in the home. This study's outcome of interest was the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) at discharge to home and three months after stroke onset. The repeated mRS scores were analyzed using the Linear Mixed Model. Results: Median days from discharge to 3 months after stroke onset was 81.0 days. The median score of mRS at discharge was 2.0, and the score at three months after stroke onset was 2.0. The distribution of mRS score 0-2 was 60.9% at discharge and 72.1% at three months after stroke onset. In Linear Mixed Models after adjustments with covariables, the family's caregiving status was positively associated with repeated mRS scores (β = 0.17; 95% confidence interval = 0.11, 0.23; p < 0.001). Conclusions: These findings suggest that family caregiving to patients with stroke might be associated with post-stroke functional recovery within the period from discharge to home until three months after stroke onset.