The purposes of this study were to identify fatigue and fatigue management among caregivers of hospitalized patients with head injuries. One hundred and twenty caregivers attending at the surgical and neurosurgical wards in Trang and Hat Yai Hospitals were observed for this study. Data were collected using a set of interview questionnaires which included caregiver and patient demographic data, a fatigue assessment questionnaire, a fatigue characteristic data sheet using Piper's framework, and an open-ended questionnaire for fatigue management using Dodd's framework. The questionnaires were examined by three experts and pre-tested for reliability, which was found to be 0.88. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and content analysis.
The results were as follows: 1. The mean total scores of fatigue assessed by caregivers were at a moderate level. The main characteristics of fatigue identified by caregivers were being tired/exhausted, being unable to think clearly or figure things out, feeling sad, drowsiness, weakness, and being forgetful. 2. Two main methods were used by caregivers to manage their fatigue, using medication and using non-pharmaco-logical methods such as finding time to relax, resting, exercising, getting support from friends or family, getting a massage and eating much food. More than 50% of the subjects used some of these methods according to the situation or symptoms and usually spent time not more than one hour one hour per day for reduction of their symptoms in the hospital.
This study provides some evidence to help nurse's in plan and help caregivers of hospitalized patients with head injuries. Based on these findings, we recommend that the care of caregivers should be promoted and supported continuously from hospital to home.