Correlation between quality of life of the aphasic patient and his family

Abstract

Introduction: Stroke is defined as rapidly developing clinical signs of focal or global disturbance of brain function with symptoms lasting more than 24 hours. Aphasia is a language impairment, which occurs when someone suffers a loss in the brain related to this area. The loss of communication presented by aphasic person will reflect on social activities and daily life. The family involved also feels affected by changing their quality of life. Purpose: to investigate the main factors that affect the quality of life of aphasic person post stroke and their families and verifying the correlation between these factors. Method: cross-sectional study approved by local ethics committee (FOB-USP). The population was composed of 24 participants, 12 aphasic individuals and 12 family members. Quality of life questionnaires were applied, first it was used the Stroke Specific Quality of Life Scale in the aphasic individuals and the World Health Organization Quality of Life - Abbreviated Instrument with family members. Results: the mobility and personal care were the least affected, language and behavior the most affected compared to aphasics. For family members, the areas least affected were personal relationships and psychological and the most affected were physical and environment. There was a statistically significant correlation between the quality of life for aphasic individuals and their families. Conclusion: it could be observed the impairment in the family and aphasic individuals’ quality of life after the stroke episode but also influence the quality of life of aphasic quality and life of your family.