Identification of rehabilitation needs after a stroke: an exploratory study.
BACKGROUND
Services to meet adequate rehabilitation needs of elderly stroke survivors are not always provided. Indeed, since 1995, in the wake of the Quebec shift to ambulatory care, home care services, mainly those related to rehabilitation of the elderly, are either unavailable or incomplete. The aim of this study was to examine the rehabilitation needs of this clientele from their hospitalization to their reintegration into the community.


METHODS
The "Handicap Production Process" conceptual approach was chosen to help identify the rehabilitation needs of persons affected by physical or cognitive disabilities due to the interactions between personal and environmental factors, and (activities of daily living, social roles). This qualitative exploratory study was performed in 2003. Data were collected among four groups of experts: patients, caregivers, health care providers and administrators. Data triangulation was used to ensure a rigorous analysis and validity of the results.


RESULTS
Unfulfilled needs could be found in the categories of pertaining to residence, community living, psychological and emotional needs. Indeed, it appears that a psychological follow-up to discuss acceptance and consequences of non-acceptance would facilitate mid-to long-term rehabilitation.


CONCLUSIONS
Improving accessibility to healthcare services, respecting priority parking spaces for the disabled as well as promoting public awareness would enable a better social reintegration and recovery of social roles, thus limiting the onset of handicap situations.
Talbot
Lise R
LR
Nursing Department, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Sherbrooke, 3001, 12e Avenue Nord, J1H 5N4 Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada. Lise.Talbot@USherbrooke.ca
Viscogliosi
Chantal
C
Desrosiers
Johanne
J
Vincent
Claude
C
Rousseau
Jacqueline
J
Robichaud
Line
L
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000359:Aftercare; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003153:Community Health Services; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care; D003625:Data Collection; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006299:Health Services for the Aged / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D020380:Needs Assessment; D017064:Process Assessment, Health Care; D036301:Qualitative Research; D011792:Quebec; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D000071939:Stroke Rehabilitation