Please select the eligibility criteria that correspond to the clinical trial below.
Title: Increasing Access to Community-based Task-oriented Exercise Programs Through Healthcare-recreation Partnerships to Improve Function Post-stroke: Feasibility of a 2-group Randomized Controlled Trial Protocol
Brief Summary: After a stroke, people find it difficult to perform everyday activities independently, like getting dressed, preparing meals, and shopping, limiting their independence and requiring the assistance of a family member, friend or a home care worker. Losing one's independence can decrease quality of life. Functional exercise classes run by physical therapists where people with stroke practice getting in and out of a chair, stepping, and walking, can improve the ability to balance, walk, and do everyday activities. These classes are not commonly available in community centres, mainly because fitness instructors do not receive training in how to run exercise classes for people with stroke. Therefore there is a need to make these functional exercise programs available in local community centres.

The objective of this project is to test procedures for running a large study to see whether people with stroke improve their ability to do everyday activities after participating in functional group exercise classes for 12 weeks in local community centres. If ability to do everyday activities improves, the investigators wish to see if the improvement is still present 3, 6 and 9 months later. Physical therapists at a nearby hospital will teach fitness instructors how to run the exercise class, help out during the classes, and answer questions by email or phone. Before conducting the larger Canada-wide study, it is important to determine the interest in such a program, the acceptability of the evaluations and the costs associated with the program, the degree of improvements resulting from the program, and if fitness instructors are able to run the program as planned.

In Toronto, London and Pembroke, Canada, managers at a hospital and a nearby recreation centre have agreed to help run the exercise program. A recruiter will ask people with stroke who can walk and are being discharged home from the hospital whether they can be called about the study. People with stroke and a caregiver who agree to participate in the study will complete four evaluations when they enter the study, and 3, 6, and 12 months later. At each evaluation, people with stroke will perform tests of balance and walking, and complete questionnaires about their mood, participation in valued activities, and quality of life. After the first evaluation, the investigators will use a process like flipping a coin, to see if the person with stroke will begin the exercise program immediately or 12 months later. The investigators will call people each month to ask if a fall occurred. The investigators will interview exercise participants, family members and hospital/recreation staff at the end of the study to ask about the experiences.

This project is unique because the program combines the expert knowledge and skills of physical therapists and fitness instructors. The exercise program involves practicing everyday movements, making the exercises easy for fitness instructors and people with stroke to learn. Each exercise has multiple levels of difficulty so the instructor can adapt exercises to how the person is feeling. The exercise program does not require expensive equipment (e.g. chairs, stepping stools) and therefore can be offered in most community centres. Finally, an extensive network of hospitals providing stroke care and community centres run by recreation organizations exists in Canada. Thus, if this program is beneficial, it could easily be made widely available.

With the number of Canadians living with the consequences of stroke increasing every year, access to a functional exercise programs in local community centres will improve their ability to function and live independently in the community and reduce the burden on family or caregivers and on the healthcare system.


Options:
A: Inclusion Criteria:

* Clinical diagnosis of stroke recorded in the health record;
* Age ≥ 18 years;
* Living at home for at least 3 months;
* Ability to walk a minimum of 10 metres with or without walking aids without assistance from another person;
* Ability to follow verbal instructions or demonstrations of the exercises;
* Ability to speak and read English; and
* Willingness to obtain medical clearance from a healthcare provider and sign a liability waiver.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Self-reported involvement in another formal exercise or rehabilitation program;
* Conditions or symptoms preventing participation in exercise (e.g., unstable cardiovascular disease, significant joint pain);
* Cognitive or behavioural deficits that would prevent cooperation within a group;
* Self-reported ability to walk more than 20 minutes without a seated rest; and
* Self-reported ability to manage environmental barriers (curbs, ramps, and stairs) with relative ease.
B: Inclusion Criteria:

* Ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke onset 3 - 9 weeks before the recruiting, confirmed by computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging.
* Moderate to severe motor impairment of an upper limb, defined as a score between 7 - 42 on the Upper Limb Subscale of Fugl Meyer Assessment of Sensorimotor Recovery after stroke.
* Ability to provide written informed consent (patient ou legal representative)
* Ability to comply with the schedule of interventions and evaluations in the protocol.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Severe spasticity at the paretic elbow, wrist or fingers, defined as a score of \> 3 on the Modified Ashworth Spasticity Scale.
* Upper limb plegia
* Uncontrolled medical problems such as end-stage cancer or renal disease
* Pregnancy
* Seizures, except for a single seizure during the first week post stroke
* Pacemakers
* Other neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease
* Psychiatric illness including severe depression
* Aphasia ou severe cognitive deficits that compromise comprehension of the experimental protocol or ability to provide consent.
* Hemineglect
* Drugs that interfere on cortical excitability, except for antidepressants
* Cerebellar lesions
C: Inclusion Criteria:

* 18 years of age or older
* First single focal unilateral lesion with diagnosis verified by brain imaging, which occurred at least 6 months prior
* Cognitive function sufficient enough to understand experiments and follow instructions
* Fugl-Meyer assessment of 7 to 58 out of 66 (neither hemiplegic nor fully recovered motor function in the muscles of the shoulder, elbow, and wrist)

Exclusion Criteria:

* Botox treatment within 6 weeks of enrollment
* Fixed contraction of the affected limb
* Complete flaccid paralysis of the affected limb
* History of hemorrhagic stroke
* Ongoing use of CNS active medications
* Ongoing use of psychoactive medications
* Presence of additional potential tDCS/TMS risk factors including damaged skin at site of stimulation, presence of a magnetically/mechanically active implant, metal in the head, family history of epilepsy, and personal history of seizures
D: Inclusion Criteria:

* Adult patients (\> 18 years)
* CT or MRI proven acute ischemic (AIS) or hemorrhagic stroke (ICH) within 72h after onset of symptoms
* Severe hemiparesis (medical research council scale for muscle strength ≤2)
* premorbid modified Rankin Scale (mRS) ≤3
* maximal National Institute of Health Stroke Scale Score (NIHSS) 25
* Voluntary written consent by the patient

Exclusion Criteria:

* Severe cognitive impairment due to aphasia or dementia, prohibiting that physiotherapeutic challenges can be understood.
* Participation on another clinical trial
* Pregnancy

Answer: A