Effects of an occupational therapy program on functional outcomes in older stroke patients

BACKGROUND: During the last decade, occupational therapy has gained increasing importance as component of the rehabilitation programs in disabled patients. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of occupational therapy programs in patients with a recent stroke. METHODS: We selected all patients with a primary diagnosis of ischemic stroke (n = 50) consecutively admitted to the two post-acute Geriatric Rehabilitation Units (CEMI 2 and 3) of the 'A. Gemelli' Hospital--Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy. Patients in the unit CEMI 3 (intervention group) received 8 weeks (3 h per day) of a combined rehabilitation program based on occupational therapy and physiotherapy. Patients admitted to the control unit (CEMI 2) received no input from the occupational therapist. RESULTS: Overall, patients had a moderate-to-severe impairment in basic activities of daily living; the mean ADL score was 30.8 (SD +/- 7.8) in the intervention group and 30.7 (SD +/- 6.1) in the control group (p = 0.9). After 8 weeks of treatment the mean ADL score in the intervention group was 13.2 (SD +/- 9.9) compared to 20.3 (SD +/- 11.5) in the control group (p = 0.02). Differences between the intervention and control groups were statistically significant for transfers (+2.8 vs. +1.6 points on the ADL scale, p = 0.006), locomotion (+3.4 vs. +1.7 points on the ADL scale, p = 0.01), dressing (+3.0 vs. +1.8 points on the ADL scale, p = 0.01) and self-care (+3.4 vs. +1.8 points on the ADL scale, p = 0.005). CONCLUSION: Our results show that patients with stroke who received occupational therapy had a greater level of independence in activities of daily living over a period of 8 weeks than patients who did not.