B – 63 The Relationship between Caregiver Burden and Productivity Level of Survivors of Acquired Brain Injury

Abstract Objective Caregiver burden emanates from demands from providing care for survivors of acquired brain injury (ABI). The Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI) can be used to measure caregiver burden in survivors of ABI. This study explored the role of survivors’ school and employment status on caregiver burden at the time of discharge from a holistic milieu-oriented neurorehabilitation program. Method Our sample consisted of 62 survivors of ABI (71% male, 29% female; 68% White, 18% Hispanic, 8% Black, 3% Asian, 3% multiracial) and their caregivers who participated in holistic milieu-oriented neurorehabilitation. Their caregivers completed the ZBI as part of their discharge process. A Kruskal-Wallis test was conducted to determine potential differences in ZBI scores between two groups of ABI survivors with different productivity statuses at discharge: Group 1: not in school/work or part-time school/work (n = 46) and Group 2: full time school/work (n = 16). Results Distributions of ZBI scores were similar for both groups, through visual inspection of a boxplot. Median ZBI scores were statistically significantly different between Group 1 (Mdn = 12.50) and Group 2 (Mdn = 6.00), χ2 (1) = 5.342, p = .021. Conclusion Caregivers of ABI survivors who were employed or in school full-time reported significantly lower burden than caregivers of ABI survivors who were working or in school part-time or not at all. These findings suggest full-time school enrollment or employment may serve as potential buffers against caregiver burden, highlighting the value of incorporating full-time productive community-based activities in neurorehabilitation goals to support both survivor independence and caregiver well-being.