A home rehabilitation program for stroke patients

The purpose of this study was to develop a rehabilitation program wherein the stroke team, patient and family act as partners in the rehabilitation process initially at hospital and subsequently on discharge for 4 weeks in the stroke patient's home. The study attempted to address the stroke patient's functional ability and life satisfaction from a holistic viewpoint. A quasi-experimental design was used. Thirty-two stroke patients participated in the intervention group and nine in the control group. The intervention group improved in functional ability after 4 weeks at home. They also participated in activities and were generally more active than the control group. Ninety percent of the families in the intervention group experienced high life satisfaction levels after the training period. However this satisfaction decreased after 6 months, and one year post-stroke, the patient and family's life satisfaction levels increased once more. It is likely that being given the opportunity to make one's own decisions, to be more active and motivated led to improvements in patients' daily life functions as they were able to carry out their preferred activities in the comfort of their own home. The program shortened the admission time for the intervention group by one-third.