Assessing the mediating role of family resilience between caregiver burden and caregiver capacity: a cross-sectional study among Chinese stroke survivors and family caregivers in a real-world setting

Objectives To investigate the relationships among caregiver burden, family resilience, and caregiver capacity in the care of stroke survivors. We hypothesised that family resilience would mediate the relationship between caregiver burden and caregiver capacity. Design A cross-sectional study design was used. Setting The study was conducted in a tertiary care setting in Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province, China. Participants The study involved 413 stroke survivors and their primary caregivers. Outcome measures The primary caregivers completed the Shortened Chinese Version of the Family Resilience Assessment Scale, Zarit Caregiver Burden Interview and Family Caregiver Task Inventor and provided their sociodemographic information. Stroke survivors were assessed for activities of daily living, and their sociodemographic information was provided. Data were analysed, controlling for sociodemographic variables and focusing on the mediating effect of family resilience. Results Caregiver burden was influenced by the activities of daily living of stroke survivors, caregiver age and caregiver health status (p<0.05). Higher caregiver burden was associated with lower family resilience (p<0.01). Lower caregiver capacity corresponded to heavier caregiver burden (p<0.01). Family resilience mediated the relationship between caregiver burden and caregiver capacity (b=0.1568; 95% CI: 0.1063 to 0.2385). Conclusions Enhancing family resilience can reduce caregiver burden and improve caregiver capacity in stroke care. These findings underscore the importance of developing interventions focused on nursing skills and family resilience.