The experiences of everyday activities post-stroke

The Impact of the COVID-19 Public Health Crisis on Communication and Quality of Life: Insights From a Community of Stroke and Brain Trauma Survivors

Purpose The COVID-19 pandemic has led to stay-at-home orders and social distancing guidelines that have the potential to greatly impact individuals' behavior and social engagement. Adults recovering from stroke or other brain trauma, who often have communication difficulties and other long-term challenges, are a population already at risk of isolation and lower quality of life. We investigated the impact of public health guidelines and related behavioral changes on self-perceptions of communication abilities and psychosocial factors in this population. Method The Stroke Comeback Center, a community-based center for stroke and other brain trauma survivors with communication impairments, disseminated an online survey to current members to investigate changes in communication, social engagement, and quality of life. Results Participants (N = 50) reported a number of changes in their day-to-day activities that reflect the current social distancing guidelines, such as reduced outings into the community and fewer in-person conversations with those living outside one's home. Overall, feelings of connectedness to others and overall quality of life were reported to be decreased when compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic, whereas receptive language abilities and technology skills were reported to have improved. Perhaps most interestingly, certain behavioral changes (including healthy movement activities and participation in virtual programs) had specific relationships with perceived communication abilities and social engagement. Conclusions Changes in daily life resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic have had a tangible impact on self-perceived psychosocial elements (e.g., quality of life) and communication abilities among stroke and other brain trauma survivors. Clinicians and researchers may consider these perceived changes when engaging with this population as the effects of the pandemic continue and in the period of community re-entry that may follow. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.14830881.

The Unmet Needs of Community-Dwelling Stroke Survivors: A Systematic Review of Qualitative Studies

The unmet needs perceived by community-dwelling stroke survivors may truly reflect the needs of patients, which is crucial for pleasant emotional experiences and a better quality of life for community-dwelling survivors not living in institutionalized organizations. The purpose of the study is to identify the scope of unmet needs from the perspectives of stroke patients in the community. A qualitative meta-synthesis was performed according to the Joanna Briggs Institute method. Six electronic databases were searched from inception to February 2020. A total of 24 articles were involved, providing data on 378 stroke survivors. Eight categories were derived from 63 findings, and then summarized into four synthesized findings based on the framework of ICF: (1) unmet needs regarding with the disease-related information; (2) unmet physical recovery and activity/participation needs; (3) unmet needs for social environmental resources; (4) unmet psycho-emotional support needs. We found the framework of ICF mostly complete, but unmet information needs still remain. The needs that are mainly unsatisfied include physical, psychosocial and informational, as well as the practical support from professional or environment resources. The ever-present unmet needs perceived by community-dwelling stroke survivors who do not live in institutions are discoverable and mitigable. Future studies should focus on quantifying unmet needs comprehensively derived from experiential domains, assessing the rationality of the unmet needs expressed by patients' perspectives and developing flexible strategies for long-term and changing needs.

Robot-assisted training compared with an enhanced upper limb therapy programme and with usual care for upper limb functional limitation after stroke: the RATULS three-group RCT

BACKGROUND

Loss of arm function is common after stroke. Robot-assisted training may improve arm outcomes.

OBJECTIVE

The objectives were to determine the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of robot-assisted training, compared with an enhanced upper limb therapy programme and with usual care.

DESIGN

This was a pragmatic, observer-blind, multicentre randomised controlled trial with embedded health economic and process evaluations.

SETTING

The trial was set in four NHS trial centres.

PARTICIPANTS

Patients with moderate or severe upper limb functional limitation, between 1 week and 5 years following first stroke, were recruited.

INTERVENTIONS

Robot-assisted training using the Massachusetts Institute of Technology-Manus robotic gym system (InMotion commercial version, Interactive Motion Technologies, Inc., Watertown, MA, USA), an enhanced upper limb therapy programme comprising repetitive functional task practice, and usual care.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

The primary outcome was upper limb functional recovery 'success' (assessed using the Action Research Arm Test) at 3 months. Secondary outcomes at 3 and 6 months were the Action Research Arm Test results, upper limb impairment (measured using the Fugl-Meyer Assessment), activities of daily living (measured using the Barthel Activities of Daily Living Index), quality of life (measured using the Stroke Impact Scale), resource use costs and quality-adjusted life-years.

RESULTS

A total of 770 participants were randomised (robot-assisted training, n = 257; enhanced upper limb therapy, n = 259; usual care, n = 254). Upper limb functional recovery 'success' was achieved in the robot-assisted training [103/232 (44%)], enhanced upper limb therapy [118/234 (50%)] and usual care groups [85/203 (42%)]. These differences were not statistically significant; the adjusted odds ratios were as follows: robot-assisted training versus usual care, 1.2 (98.33% confidence interval 0.7 to 2.0); enhanced upper limb therapy versus usual care, 1.5 (98.33% confidence interval 0.9 to 2.5); and robot-assisted training versus enhanced upper limb therapy, 0.8 (98.33% confidence interval 0.5 to 1.3). The robot-assisted training group had less upper limb impairment (as measured by the Fugl-Meyer Assessment motor subscale) than the usual care group at 3 and 6 months. The enhanced upper limb therapy group had less upper limb impairment (as measured by the Fugl-Meyer Assessment motor subscale), better mobility (as measured by the Stroke Impact Scale mobility domain) and better performance in activities of daily living (as measured by the Stroke Impact Scale activities of daily living domain) than the usual care group, at 3 months. The robot-assisted training group performed less well in activities of daily living (as measured by the Stroke Impact Scale activities of daily living domain) than the enhanced upper limb therapy group at 3 months. No other differences were clinically important and statistically significant. Participants found the robot-assisted training and the enhanced upper limb therapy group programmes acceptable. Neither intervention, as provided in this trial, was cost-effective at current National Institute for Health and Care Excellence willingness-to-pay thresholds for a quality-adjusted life-year.

CONCLUSIONS

Robot-assisted training did not improve upper limb function compared with usual care. Although robot-assisted training improved upper limb impairment, this did not translate into improvements in other outcomes. Enhanced upper limb therapy resulted in potentially important improvements on upper limb impairment, in performance of activities of daily living, and in mobility. Neither intervention was cost-effective.

FUTURE WORK

Further research is needed to find ways to translate the improvements in upper limb impairment seen with robot-assisted training into improvements in upper limb function and activities of daily living. Innovations to make rehabilitation programmes more cost-effective are required.

LIMITATIONS

Pragmatic inclusion criteria led to the recruitment of some participants with little prospect of recovery. The attrition rate was higher in the usual care group than in the robot-assisted training or enhanced upper limb therapy groups, and differential attrition is a potential source of bias. Obtaining accurate information about the usual care that participants were receiving was a challenge.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN69371850.

FUNDING

This project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment programme and will be published in full in Health Technology Assessment; Vol. 24, No. 54. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information.

A controlled study analyzing the temporal activity patterns of individuals with stroke compared to healthy adults

Introduction

The understanding of the temporal pattern of individuals can add a wider perspective to interventions. Therefore, the present study is aimed toward analysis of the temporal activity pattern of individuals with stroke compared to healthy adults.

Method

This study is a prospective, case–control, analytic research study. The study sample comprised 50 individuals with stroke and 50 individuals without disease, for 80% power with a 5% type 1 error. The Modified Occupational Questionnaire was administered to assess the temporal activity pattern. Individuals identified the activities performed at each hour of the day and data was analyzed.

Results

The temporal activity pattern of individuals with stroke differed from healthy controls; education and play activities were not part of stroke participants’ daily routines. Also, participation in work, leisure and social participation activities was significantly different for people with stroke compared to healthy controls ( p < 0.01 ). The study group assigned very low values to the activities; the value perceived by individuals differed significantly between groups ( p < 0.01 ).

Conclusion

Clinicians are in a position to enable individuals’ time use and help to engage them in meaningful activity. Individuals with stroke may benefit from a program focusing on the temporal aspect of activities.