Impact of Rehabilitation Team Approach on Disability in Patients with Stroke

Background: Stroke is a leading cause of death globally and many stroke survivors lead their lives with multiple disabilities. Rehabilitation is a set of interventions designed to optimize functioning and reduce disability in individuals with health conditions in interaction with their environment. Stroke rehabilitation is a continuum, starting within days of onset and ending only when it no longer produces any positive effects. Objective: To evaluate the impact of the rehabilitation team approach on disability among stroke patients. Methods: This was a quasi experimental study where 136 subjects were randomly selected and divided in two groups: Group-A (received Rehabilitation Team Approach) and Group-B (received Conventional Rehabilitation Approach) by lottery. Respondents were assessed at 6th weeks, 12th weeks, and 26th weeks. Outcomes were measured by FIM (Functional Independence Measure) scores. Result: Among 136 patients, 68 patients in group A and 68 patients in group B had completed 26th week follow up. The mean age of the patients in group A and B were 57.25 (± 7.22) and 57.09 (± 6.38) years respectively. Majority of the patients were male (72.06 % & 76.47 % in group A & B respectively). Among the study people Main cause of disability was ischemic 88(64.71%) and hemorrhagic 48(35.29%) stroke. At baseline and after 6th week of treatment, there were no significant statistical differences between the two groups regarding FIM scores. In 12th week, FIM significantly increased in group A (108.17 ± 9.52) compared to group B (103.79 ± 7.37) respectively with a p-value 0.0032 which persisted till 26th week 115.62 ±5.07 & 110.22 ± 4.97 with a p-value <0.0001 in group A & B respectively. Conclusion: In this study found out that rehabilitation team approach significantly reduces disability of the stroke patients. Bangladesh Med Res Counc Bull 2024; 50: 141-147