Statistical analysis
stroke, ’
STROKE
The analyses were performed with intention to treat (ITT). Regardless of the treatment (if any) they received, all randomized participants were included in the statistical analysis and examined according to the group to which they were originally allocatedThe analyses were conducted using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences(SPSS), version 21.0. Depending on the measurement level, the Student’s t, Mann-Whitney’s U, Pearson’s Chi-square or Fisher’s Exact tests were used to generate and compare family caregivers’ and stroke survivors’ characteristics at baseline. A Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) model was then employed to capture the effects of the SHARE intervention on the caregivers’ WHOQOL-BREF and WHOQOL-OLD scores over time. “Over time” comparisons were made 7 days after discharge (baseline) versus 2 months after discharge, and at baseline versus 1 year after discharge. We controlled for remarkably different (p<.15) CG and IG family caregiver characteristics, with these possibly including survivor’s marital status, caregiver-survivor relationships, time living with the survivor, and days spent as a family caregiver.