Nationwide Survey of Physical and Psychological Stress on Prolonged Mechanical Ventilation Patients in Taiwan

Background: Prolonged mechanical Ventilation patient (PMV), who used the ventilator equal or over 21days need caregivers (most are family members) to 24-hour care. Studies have shown that the physical and psychological stress on the caregivers of PMV patients, but no one compares the physical and psychological stress among caregivers of the intensive care unit, respiratory care center (RCC), respiratory care ward (RCW) and home care (HC) patient. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study from November 2013 to April 2014. We used a structured questionnaire to survey main caregivers on a 5-point Likert scale. The survey was conducted in 64 Cooperative institutions (6 medical centers, 11 regional hospitals, 23 local hospitals, 15 nursing homes, and 9 home care centers) conducted questionnaire surveys and collected 687 questionnaires. Results: A total of 601 questionnaires were included (effective rate 87%), including 150 ICU stages, 150 RCC stages, 150 RCW stages, and 151 HC stages. There were no significant differences in caregivers, social, and economic performance among the four groups of respondents. Physical stress, compared with ICU caregivers, RCC is 1.94 times, RCW is 1.22 times, HC is as high as 3.67 times; psychological stress, compared with ICU caregivers, RCC is 1.20 times, HC is as high as 2.39 times Conclusions: The caregivers of PMV patients at Home were under high physical and psychological stress compared to ICU, RCC and RCW. It is recommended that more support to them were needed.