Upper extremity functional outcome of stroke survivors after taking occupational therapy

Abstract

Background: Stroke is a neurological condition that affects person’s whole life. Selfcare activities of daily living are necessary for stroke survival and include those tasks which all of us undertake every day of our lives in order to maintain our level of care such as eating, dressing, toileting, grooming and bathing. Occupational therapy is an essential element in the rehabilitation of patients after stroke. Objective: The upper extremity functional outcome of stroke survivors after taking occupational therapy at neurology outpatient unit of CRP, savar. Methodology: The study conducted through retrospective document (file) review study in cross-sectional design. In the Neurology Unit of occupational therapy department there were 834 files of patients who took therapy from July 2014 to June 2015. Among those files there were 394 files of stroke patients. 55 files of stroke patients were completed according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Participants were selected by using purposive sampling. A self-developed structured questionnaire was used to collect data and outcome was measured by Functional Independent Measurement (FIM) scale, hand function was measured by Royal Air Force scale. Result and Discussion: In this study, the result shows positive changes in all the parametric outcome measure of the outcome area. The mean occupational therapy session was 28.84 and standard deviation was ±18.06. The sensation before taking treatment mean score was 15.15, after taking treatment mean score was 19.40 and p=.000. The hand function before taking treatment mean score was 3.02, after taking treatment mean score was 14.84 and p=.018. Self-care activity before taking treatment mean score was 12.62, after taking treatment mean score was 24.53 and p=.005 of the participants. Conclusion: The results of this study provided more insight into the upper extremity functional outcome of stroke survivors. This information would assist the professional to justify the occupational therapy practice. More research is needed to evaluate the rehabilitation program for these patients. Key words: Upper extremity, Functional outcome, Stroke, Occupational therapy.