The impact of sex and gender on burden for caregivers of stroke patients: A narrative review

Background: When a patient is disabled after stroke, they require both emotional support and medical management and may require the assistance of a caregiver. Given the often-sudden onset of disability and the complex challenges related to caring for someone after stroke, caregivers can experience a heavy burden. Caregiver burden negatively affects quality of care, quality of life, and physical and psychological health. The impact of gender on caregiver burden has been in many other conditions; however, the association has not yet been thoroughly assessed in stroke. Objective: The aim of this paper is to define caregiver burden, discuss how it is assessed, discuss unique aspects of burden for stroke caregivers, and determine the impact of sex and gender on stroke caregiver role and burden. Methods: A narrative review was performed to synthesize the available literature and explore how the role of sex and gender impact caregiving for patients who have suffered stroke and whether sex and gender of the caregiver contribute to caregiver burden r. Results: Review of the available literature suggests that sex and gender significantly impact caregiving burden following stroke dipropionately affecting women. Conclusions: Caregiving for patients who have suffered stroke is often provided by women both inside the home and when patients are within institutions. Women who serve as caregivers to stroke patients may be at higher risk of experiencing burden and its negative effects, including emotional strain, anxiety, and/or depression. More research is needed to determine the best ways to provide support for women who act as caregivers for stroke patients to mitigate caregiver burden.