Bakas Stroke remains the leading cause of long-term disability and caregivers of stroke survivors need support and skills to help with convalescence as well as information to assure their own well-being.

An associate professor from the IU School of Nursing (IUSON) has received a $270,993 grant to design and test a telephone intervention program to assist families in providing care to stroke survivors soon after they are discharged from the hospital.

Tamilyn Bakas, who is with IUSON’s Department of Adult Health, received the grant from the National Institute for Nursing Research (NINR) as part of a Mentored Research Scientist Development Award.

The award will allow her to design and test the Caregiver Telephone Assessment and Skill-building Kit (TASK), an eight-week program that will provide family caregivers written materials and weekly telephone calls with a nurse.

Based on detailed assessments of caregiver needs and concerns, a nurse will facilitate families with a variety of issues, including: directing caregivers to stroke information, transportation and financial resources; helping the stroke survivor manage emotions and behaviors; helping families provide personal care to the patient; and directing families to other areas related to care. Caregivers will also be given information and support about how to avoid caregiver stress, social isolation and poor health.

During this three-year study, Bakas will work with Joan Austin, IU Distinguished Professor of nursing; Carol Farran, a professor in the Department of Community and Mental Health Nursing at Rush University’s College of Nursing; and Barbara Given, Distinguished Professor and director of the Center for Nursing Research at Michigan State University.

Once the pilot is completed, Bakas plans to apply for further funding to evaluate the effectiveness of the TASK program in a clinical trial involving family caregivers of stroke survivors.

"As stroke remains the leading cause of long-term disability, more and more caregivers will need information and support that will help them through the early months of providing care," said Bakas. "By assessing the needs and concerns of family caregivers, appropriate information and support can be directed to caregivers that will help them adjust more quickly to their role. This is particularly important since caregiver stress is the leading cause of long-term institutionalization of stroke survivors."

Bakas’ work with family caregivers of stroke survivors began approximately 20 years ago, when she was a graduate student at IUSON. During her career, she developed an assessment tool to measure how caregivers’ lives have changed as a result of providing care. She also developed a checklist to assess potential areas for individualized caregiver interventions. These tools have become an important part of the TASK program, which is designed to assist family caregivers in providing care for loved ones with stroke.

In 2004, the Indiana University School of Nursing (IUSON) is celebrating 90 years of excellence in education, research, and service. Founded in 1914 as the Indiana University Training School for Nurses, IUSON has evolved into the state’s largest and most comprehensive school. With programs on eight campuses, the school enrolls a diverse population of 2000 undergraduate and graduate students each year, awarding more than 600 degrees annually. As a national leader in nursing education and research, IUSON offers the full range of nursing degree programs, including the state’s only PhD in nursing. The school excels in supporting innovative community service initiatives, including collaborative faculty efforts to create new channels of health care delivery to Indiana’s citizens. With 24,000 living alumni in the United States and around the world, the school maintains a strong commitment to improving the health of the citizens of Indiana, the nation, and beyond by preparing nurses to meet the challenges in all aspects of health care.