Nurse-led stroke aftercare addressing long-term psychosocial outcome: a comparison to care-as-usual

D. P. J. Verberne, M. E. A. L. Kroese, J. Staals, R. W. H. M. Ponds, C. M. van Heugten*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Purpose

To examine whether nurse-led stroke aftercare is beneficial for long-term psychosocial outcome of community-dwelling persons with stroke.

Materials and methods

Comparative effectiveness research design in which a prospective stroke aftercare cohort (n = 87) was compared to care-as-usual (n = 363) at six- and 12-months post stroke. Changes over time in cognitive and emotional problems experienced in daily life, fatigue and stroke impact on daily life were examined for stroke aftercare only. Multilevel modelling was used to compare stroke aftercare to care-as-usual concerning anxiety and depression symptoms, social participation and quality of life, over time.

Results

Sample characteristics did not differ between cohorts except for stroke type and on average, more severe stroke in the stroke aftercare cohort (p <0.05). Following stroke aftercare, anxiety and emotional problems decreased significantly (p <0.05), whereas care-as-usual remained stable over time in terms of anxiety. No significant changes over time were observed on the other outcome domains.

Conclusions

Nurse-led stroke aftercare showed to be beneficial for emotional well-being in comparison to care-as-usual. Providing psychoeducation and emotional support seem effective elements but adding other therapeutic elements such as self-management strategies might increase the effectiveness of nurse-led stroke aftercare.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2849-2857
Number of pages9
JournalDisability and Rehabilitation
Volume44
Issue number12
Early online date26 Nov 2020
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 5 Jun 2022

Keywords

  • Stroke
  • aftercare
  • nurses
  • counselling
  • emotional adjustment
  • primary health care
  • QUALITY-OF-LIFE
  • BRAIN-INJURY
  • POSTSTROKE
  • STAY
  • CONSEQUENCES
  • SUBACUTE
  • FATIGUE
  • LENGTH
  • SCALE
  • NEEDS

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