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  Background and Objective: Chronic neurologic diseases due to associated disabilities and high cost of ­their medical services are considered as a crisis for patients and family. The stress caused by these problems can jeopardize the health of the caregivers. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine the general health status of neurologic patients’ caregivers and the related factors.

  Material and Methods: In this cross-sectional study conducted in 2009, the caregivers of the patients with neurological disorders (n=200) were selected via convenience sampling.­ The data was gathered by a demographic checklist and general health questionnaire (GHQ-28) completed by caregivers and analyzed by descriptive statistic­, Pearson correlation coefficient and chi square, using SPSS-16.

  Results: The mean age is 31.78±9.94 and 59.5% of the subjects are males. The caregivers (72.5%) general health is disturbed (Score more than 23 based on GHQ-28 cut of point). General health of male and female caregivers is significantly different (P<0.05). Between the subscales of GHQ-28, female caregivers compared to males have higher depression score, which is significant (P<0.05).­ ­The caregivers’ general health are correlated with (P<0.05) the patient’s care dependency and the income of family. ­There is no significant relationship between general health and demographic variables such as marital status, history of the disease and educational level.

  Conclusion: Based on the results, significant percent of caregivers of the patients with neurological disorders suffer from disrupted general health. Thus, the presence of supportive resources and effective coping skills can be effective in improving the health.

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Background and Objective: ‌With increasing older people population, the need to provide health care services in nursing homes is increasing. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of an educational program about the management of common problems in old age on the level of job stress in the caregivers of Golestan province nursing homes.
Material and Methods: This pre-experimental study was conducted on all 24 caregivers (11 males and 13 females) working in the nursing homes of Golestan province. The valid and reliable instruments were a researcher-made questionnaire to evaluate the knowledge and Osipow's job stress questionnaire,‌ the intervention was an educational package to increase their knowledge and skills about the management of old age problems. The questionnaires were completed before, immediately after, one month and three months after the training. The data was analyzed by analysis variance, Pearson correlation, independent t-test and paired t-test.
Results: With increasing the knowledge of the caregivers, a significant reduction in job stress scores (p<0.001) ‌was found after three months. Two components of job stress including overload (p<0.001) and insufficiency (p=0.002) showed significant decreases after three months compared to the mean scores before training.
Conclusion: Due to The effect of training on stress reduction, providing comprehensive training programs for caregivers may lead to higher quality services and health promotion for both elders and their caregivers.