title: Racial/ethnic variation in recovery of motor function in stroke survivors: role of informal caregivers.
abstract: Research documents that African American and Latinos who have experienced an acute stroke recover more slowly than Caucasians in the United States. This descriptive study examines (1) the variation in Caucasian, Puerto Rican, and African American motor function after stroke; (2) the association between caregiver attributes and motor recovery after stroke; and (3) the degree to which caregiver attributes explain the variation in motor recovery between different racial/ethnic groups. One hundred and thirty-five veterans who had been hospitalized after an acute stroke, released home, and identified an informal caregiver were enrolled in the study. Veterans and caregivers were surveyed at five time points over the course of 24 months. Results indicate that Puerto Ricans show greater impairment and African Americans show less impairment at discharge from the hospital compared with Caucasians. Caregiver characteristics mediate the racial/ethnic differences in impairment at discharge and motor recovery across time.
authors.affiliation: North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System, Rehabilitation Outcomes Research Center, Gainesville, FL, USA. mhinojosa@mcw.edu
authors.forename: Melanie Sberna
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Hinojosa
authors.forename: Maude
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rittman
authors.forename: Ramon
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hinojosa
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Rodriguez
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D001741:Black or African American; D000368:Aged; D017028:Caregivers; D003469:Culture; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009048:Motor Skills; D020127:Recovery of Function; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D020521:Stroke / Q000208:ethnology*; D000071939:Stroke Rehabilitation; D014481:United States; D044465:White People