The Development of a Physical Therapy Education and Skill Support Program for Caregivers of Muslim Stroke Patients

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study was to develop and evaluate an educational and skill-enhancement program in physical therapy for caregivers of Muslim patients with stroke.
Method: This research employed a research-and-development design conducted from October 2025 to February 2026, and consisted of three phases: situation analysis, program development, and outcome evaluation. The study sample included caregivers of Muslim stroke patients and the patients themselves, divided into a pre-development group of 30 participants and a post-development group of 30 participants. Research instruments comprised a knowledge assessment, a physical therapy skill assessment, a patient activities-of-daily-living (ADL) assessment, and a caregiver satisfaction questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, while pre- and post-program comparisons were performed using t-tests

Results: The findings demonstrated that the developed program significantly improved caregivers’ knowledge and physical therapy skills. Post-intervention mean scores were 12.9 for knowledge (p-value<0.05), 30.8 for physical therapy skills (p-value<0.05), and 81.88 for patient ADL performance (p-value<0.01). Caregiver satisfaction with the program was high, with an average score of 4.8.

Conclusions: The educational and physical therapy skill-enhancement program developed in this study effectively strengthened caregivers’ competencies and contributed to improved patient functional performance. The high level of caregiver satisfaction further supports the program’s appropriateness and feasibility for practical implementation. Moreover, the program has potential for adaptation and application to other patient groups, thereby offering broader benefits to patients and the general population.

Keywords: Stroke rehabilitation, Caregivers, Muslim stroke patients