A nurse-led educational intervention to improve caregiver preparedness during stroke discharge: a pilot quasi-experimental study with historical comparison

Background: Stroke caregivers often feel ill-prepared for the transition home, which could compromise quality of care and increase burden. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a structured educational intervention for caregivers of patients with stroke in improving their preparedness during the hospital-to-home transition. Methods: A pilot quasi-experimental study with a historical control group was conducted, using full propensity score matching to minimize selection bias. The intervention group included 97 informal caregivers recruited between 2024 and 2025 from two Italian hospitals, while the historical control group comprised 216 caregivers enrolled between 2018 and 2019. The intervention consisted of a personalized nurse-led educational program initiated before discharge and continued after discharge. The control group received standard discharge information only. Caregiver preparedness was assessed using the Caregiver Preparedness Scale at baseline and three months post-discharge. Results: After matching, the analytical sample included 97 intervention caregivers and 216 controls. Although baseline preparedness was lower in the intervention group, at three months they reported significantly higher preparedness than controls (B = 9.54, 95% CI: 8.40–10.44; p < 0.001). Sensitivity analyses confirmed the robustness of results. Conclusions: A structured, individualized educational intervention significantly enhanced caregiver preparedness during the hospital-to-home transition after stroke.