Importance: Community-based support groups have been shown to improve quality of life for caregivers of stroke survivors through increased social participation. While Rehab and Beyond provides services to underserved stroke survivors, it currently lacks a caregiver-specific support group. Establishing this group will address an unmet need by fostering community, increasing social participation, and improving overall quality of life for caregivers. Objective: To develop and implement a caregiver support group (CSG) that promotes emotional well-being, facilitates social participation, and enhances overall quality of life through shared experiences and mutual support. ACOTE Area: Primary: Program Development; Secondary: Education. Design: The current capstone project was a mixed method study focused on program development spanning 14 weeks. A link to an anonymous, voluntary satisfaction survey was provided in each group reminder email sent by Rehab and Beyond for participants to provide feedback. A hard copy of the survey was offered but not utilized due to participant preference for digital option via Qualtrics. Setting: The CSG took place in-person at Rehab and Beyond, a non-profit rehabilitation clinic serving brain injury and stroke survivors in Atlanta, Georgia. Participants: Recruitment was completed solely by Rehab and Beyond. Participants ranged from five to seven members with six being female and one being male. Care recipients of group members had either sustained a stroke and/or a brain injury.
Intervention: The caregiver support group (CSG) was developed and implemented in collaboration with Rehab and Beyond. The CSG program content focused on areas relevant to caregivers as determined by the literature review and needs assessment. Topics included establishing support, self-care, self-reflection, emotional labor, life balance, burnout, rehabilitation process/continuum of care, grief, relationships, decision-making. Each CSG lasted 1-hour, once a week for 11 weeks. Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome of this capstone project includes physical and digital binder of 11-weeks’ worth of CSG programming. A link to a brief, voluntary, and anonymous satisfaction survey was provided to participants in each CSG reminder email due to participant preference for virtual option. The survey assessed general satisfaction via four Likert scale questions and one open-ended question to provide feedback or suggestions. Results: The findings were categorically positive, with majority “Very Satisfied” ratings on the survey along with positive written feedback expressing satisfaction with group facilitation, environment, and content. Conclusion and Relevance: The CSG demonstrated positive participant outcomes while highlighting the importance of viewing group facilitation as therapeutic use of self, benefits of smaller support groups, and balanced content focusing on both discussion and structured activities.