Relative importance of rehabilitation therapy characteristics on functional outcomes for persons with stroke .
Is a day hospital rehabilitation programme associated with reduction of handicap in stroke patients?
Objective : ( 1 ) To assess whether a rehabilitation day hospital programme is associated with a reduced h and icap level of stroke patients . ( 2 ) To estimate the relationship between the London H and icap Scale ( LHS ) and other outcome measures . ( 3 ) To examine the effect of demographic parameters ( age , gender , family status , education ) on LHS scores . Design : A prospect i ve longitudinal survey . Setting : An urban geriatric rehabilitation day hospital . Subjects : Two hundred and seven elderly stroke patients admitted between December 1999 and February 2001 . Main outcome measures :  London H and icap Scale ( LHS ) , Functional Independent Measure ( FIM ) , Nottingham Extended ADL Index , timed get up and go test . Results : LHS scores at discharge changed significantly ( p < 0.008 ) for mobility , physical independence and occupation . The overall change in LHS score was 2.3 points ( 20 % ) ; effect size 0.43 . A significant relationship was found between discharge score of LHS and admission score of FIM , Nottingham Index , timed get up and go and age . Multiple linear regressions did not identify a good predictor for the discharge score of LHS . Higher education was associated with higher LHS scores on admission ( p= 0.016 ) but with less success in correcting h and icap ( p= 0.046 ) . Conclusions : A day hospital programme is associated with reduced level of h and icap in stroke patients . The LHS is a useful and simple scale for measuring change in these patients . LHS in stroke patients correlates with other outcome measures , yet they can not be used interchangeably . A significant relationship between education and level of h and icap exists
Relative importance of rehabilitation therapy characteristics on functional outcomes for persons with stroke .