Validity of the Utrecht scale for evaluation of rehabilitation-participation restrictions scale in a hospital-based stroke population 3 months after stroke

Caregiver burden and impact on COVID-19 patient participation and quality of life one year after ICU discharge - A prospective cohort study

OBJECTIVES

to investigate changes in caregiver strain, mental health complaints and QoL in caregivers of COVID-19 ICU survivors in the first year after discharge, and their associations with patients' participation and quality of life.

METHODS

Post-ICU COVID-19 survivors, needing inpatient rehabilitation and their informal caregivers were included. Caregiver self-administered questionnaires included quality of life, self-rated health, caregiver strain, anxiety and depression symptoms, post-traumatic stress and coping style. Patients' participation in society was assessed and quality of life.

RESULTS

67 patients (78% male) and 57 caregivers (23.6% male) were included. Three months post-ICU, caregivers experienced caregiver strain (32%), anxiety (41%), depressive symptoms (16%) and PTSD (24%). One year post-ICU, rates decreased, still being 11%, 26%, 10% and 5%, respectively. Caregiver anxiety symptoms and self-rated health at three months were associated with worse patient levels of participation and quality of life one year after ICU discharge (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

COVID-19 caregivers experience high levels of mental health complaints one year after a patient's ICU discharge. Furthermore, our results indicate that patient participation levels and quality of life one year after ICU discharge may be negatively associated by caregiver complaints.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS

Counselling and routine assessment of emotional complaints and unmet needs of the informal caregiver should be incorporated and addressed in the rehabilitation treatment of (COVID-19) post-ICU patients.

Social participation, resilience, and coping tendency in a sample of stroke survivors: a multi-centre cross-sectional study in China

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the association between resilience and social participation and examine the mediation of resilience on coping strategies and social participation.

DESIGN

A multi-centre cross-sectional study performed from April to July 2022.

PARTICIPANTS

The study sample comprised 239 stroke survivors (53.1% male). The mean age of participants was 65.4 years.

METHODS

The study was conducted at 3 neurorehabilitation centres in Shanghai, China. The Utrecht Scale for Evaluation of Rehabilitation Participation (USER-P) was used to measure both objective and subjective social participation. Resilience was evaluated using the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), while positive coping tendency was assessed using the Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire (SCSQ). Multivariate linear regression was employed, taking into account confounding factors. In cases where a significant interaction effect was observed, simple slope analysis was conducted to explore the relationship between positive coping tendency and social participation at different levels of resilience.

RESULTS

The mean scores of social participation frequency, restriction, and satisfaction were 21.80 ± 15.13, 38.92 ±  26.48, and 63.34  ± 22.35, respectively. Higher resilience level was independently associated with higher social participation frequency (B = 0.210, p < 0.001), less participation restriction (B = 0.584, p < 0.001), and higher participation satisfaction (B = 0.250, p < 0.001). Moreover, higher resilience was correlated with more positive coping tendency. More positive coping tendency was related to higher social participation frequency and less participation restriction, but not to social participation satisfaction. Furthermore, individuals at different resilience levels moderated the effect of positive coping tendency on social participation frequency.

CONCLUSION

This study underlines the importance of resilience as a potential intervention in enhancing both objective and subjective social participation in stroke survivors, and provides insights into increasing the efficacy of positive coping strategies on social participation.

Participation in daily life activities at two months after stroke predicts long-term health-related quality of life

BACKGROUND

After stroke, many patients experience problems with participation in daily activities. Improving participation is the main goal in stroke rehabilitation. However, the longitudinal relationship between participation and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) remains unclear.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to examine (1) the predictive value of participation at two months on long-term HRQoL and (2) the longitudinal relationship between participation and HRQoL.

METHODS

In this multicenter, prospective cohort study, patients were assessed at two and 12 months after stroke. Participation was measured with the Restriction subscale of the Utrecht Scale for Evaluation of Rehabilitation - Participation. HRQoL was assessed with the three-level version of the EuroQoL five dimensions questionnaire index score.

RESULTS

This study included 291 patients. Mean age was 66.6 ± 12.4 years, 64.3% were male and mean National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) was 2.5 ± 2.9. Multivariable linear regression, adjusted for demographic characteristics, stroke characteristics, physical and cognitive impairment, showed that a higher level of participation at two months correlated with a higher HRQoL at one year (B = .004; 95% CI =.002-.005). Patients whose participation improved had a greater increase in HRQoL, compared to patients without improvement (0.080 ± .21 versus -.054 ± .21; p < .001).

CONCLUSIONS

The level of participation at two months post-stroke predicts HRQoL at one year. Improvement in participation during the first year after stroke is associated with improvement in HRQoL. We recommend including the assessment of participation in daily activities at follow-up visits.