title: Individualised home-based rehabilitation after stroke in eastern Finland--the client's perspective.
abstract: Reintegration into society is one of the main purposes of post-stroke rehabilitation. The experiences of clients returning home after a stroke have been studied before. There is, however, little knowledge about activities carried out during home-based rehabilitation interventions and about the involvement of clients in the process. This study focused on clients' experiences of a 3-month individualised, home-based rehabilitation programme supervised by a multidisciplinary team. The data were collected in 2009-2010, and it was based on interviews with 14 clients (48-83 years of age) conducted approximately 7 months after stroke. In the thematic analysis, five main topics describing the goals and functions of the home-based rehabilitation were identified as follows: (i) learning strategies for solving problems in daily activities at home and in the community; (ii) receiving exercise coaching; (iii) exploring community services and facilities; (iv) having a dialogue with professionals; and (v) engaging in activities aimed at returning to work. Implementing rehabilitation activities in the home environment seemed to enhance the participants' active involvement and their ability to evaluate themselves and to set goals for their recovery. Work was an important goal for clients of working age, but work-related tasks were not sufficiently integrated with home-based rehabilitation. A challenge for local communities is to provide health promotion and recreation services that are also suitable for persons with limited functioning.
authors: Department of Health Care, Mikkeli University of Applied Sciences, Savonlinna, Finland.
authors: Merja A T
authors: MA
authors: Reunanen
authors: Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Lapland, Rovaniemi, Finland.
authors: Aila
authors: A
authors: Järvikoski
authors: Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland.
authors: Ulla
authors: U
authors: Talvitie
authors: Department of Health Care, Mikkeli University of Applied Sciences, Savonlinna, Finland.
authors: Outi
authors: O
authors: Pyöriä
authors: Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Lapland, Rovaniemi, Finland.
authors: Kristiina
authors: K
authors: Härkäpää
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology; D000368:Aged; D005081:Exercise Therapy / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D006699:Home Care Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010348:Patient Care Team; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D057285:Precision Medicine / Q000379:methods; D062707:Return to Work; D000071939:Stroke Rehabilitation / Q000379:methods*
keywords: community participation; home treatment; patient narratives; physiotherapy; qualitative research; stroke rehabilitation